


Sleeping Beauty and the Three Stooges

by bluecinderella4



Category: Sleeping Beauty (Fairy Tale), Three Stooges
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-02-22 21:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 30,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23834245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluecinderella4/pseuds/bluecinderella4
Summary: A loose follow-up to "Snow White & the 3 Stooges". Recently graduated from the Fairy Academy, Moe, Larry, & Curly Joe are given the coveted role of Royal Fairy Godparents to a newborn princess. While presenting their gifts, an evil fairy shows up and curses the princess to die on her eighteenth birthday by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. Curly Joe manages to counter the curse by altering death to sleep, but they still feel it's not enough. For the princess' safety, the three godfathers hide her in the forest until the day of her eighteenth birthday. But upon returning to the castle, the evil fairy is awaiting them. Needing true love's kiss to break the spell, the Stooges seek out the mystery man the princess had fallen in love with earlier, only to find out the evil fairy has captured him. Now it's up to Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe to set him free and get him to break the spell.
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this probably seems like a wtf kind of idea—and it probably is—but, my mind wanders to some wtf kind of places when I try to sleep.
> 
> BACKSTORY: The 1961 fantasy/adventure/family film "Snow White & the Three Stooges" is a movie I discovered way back when for $5 at Target. Naturally, I knew the story of "Snow White". I also had some knowledge of the Three Stooges. What little I had seen of them was enjoyable. My curiosity piqued, I watched the movie. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good. However, it does make for good background noise…unless you get accidentally invested. A couple of months ago, I finished a fairy tale themed IT fic, and somehow ideas mashed together in the early morning hours. When properly conscious, I made an outline, stored it away, and thought nothing of it. Then I rediscovered the outline and I thought of some more ideas I could expand upon. I outlined those new ideas and…well, here we are now. As much as I liked Curly, I gotta keep with Curly Joe because I’ve seen this movie so many times [it’s on YouTube] and it’s been a long time since I watched a legitimate Stooges short with him (or Shemp, for that matter), so I just decided to keep Curly Joe.
> 
> I hope I’m not totally crazy.

**_ PROLOGUE _ **

_“Once upon a time, in a far off land, there lived a noble king and his lovely, young queen, who lacked but one blessing to make their joy complete. The good queen---”_

“That’s really how you’re gonna start this whole thing?”

The unnecessary interruption resulted in an aggravated sigh from the narrator. “Gentlemen,” the narrator closed his book and addressed the three men to the side of him, “I am merely regaling the assembly with the story— _your_ story,” he put a snide emphasis on that pronoun before clearing his throat and addressing the crowd. “I beg your pardon, ladies and gentlemen. I sincerely hope this will be the only interruption from our guests,” he casted a cold look toward the three men.

Of the men—the one dressed in green, standing center, and with wildly uncontrollable hair—loudly whispered, “You think he’s still mad at us?” The narrator huffed in ire as a response.

“It’s only been about twenty years,” the stockier, bald man to his left dressed in blue replied. “You think he woulda gotten over one little explosion.”

Center-green swatted at the shoulder of the man who appeared to be standing slightly ahead. This man wore red and had a bowl cut. It was clear he was not expecting to be lightly struck. “Why’d you have to go and interrupt him like that?”

“He’s telling _our_ story after all,” Bald-blue reminded.

“But listen to the way he’s telling it,” Bowl Cut noted. “He’s taking the fun right out of it.” He turned toward the audience. “Let me be the one to beg your pardon, ladies and gentlemen; but if anyone’s listened to a lecture from old Professor Merlin over here, then this should be expected.” A few chuckles emitted from the crowd. “Professor, _we_ are the guests of honor. Should _we_ not be the ones telling our own story?”

“Need I remind you that this is _my_ class and that _I_ am the one who has to interrupt a whole lesson plan for this… _this_ …” he sighed in frustration “Whenever a fairy alumnus performs above and beyond, the faculty at the Magic Academy honors them by preserving their triumph in the treasury novel and presiding over an assembly with said alumnus, or alumni. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you three decide to have your achievement documented with this storytelling structure?”

“Yeah, but…” Bowl Cut went over and peered through the pages. Next, he seemed to be testing its weight. “…is this really big enough for _our_ triumph?”

Professor Merlin’s flustered response gave way to a few more chuckles. He quickly tried to compose himself. “As former students, you should remember how to locate the proper contents with a finder’s spell. I believe that was in your Beginner’s Magic Class.” He moved the book away from Bowl Cut. “How the three of you ever managed to even reach beginner’s level is beyond comprehension.”

“Oh yeah? Well I’m comprehending that I’ve just been insulted.”

“And so have we!” Center-green pointed out.

“You have insulted three guests of honor, Professor. Whaddya have to say for yourself?”

The professor then said, “I say that you have a great distinction for repeating what has already been established, Mr. Moe. Congratulations on being able to count to three.”

“Why I oughta---” the others immediately hurried over to restrain Moe from an attack. “Lemme at ‘im! Lemme at ‘im!”

“That will be quite enough,” a soft, yet firm voice garnered attention.

“Queen Renewa,” the four men on stage quickly bowed.

A woman dressed in white and gold (literally) floated onto the stage. “Now really, Moe, this behavior is uncalled for.”

“Sorry, Your Majesty,” Moe apologized.

“However, I do share your sentiments.” She turned to the professor. “Merlin, you know I consider you one of the academy’s finest educators and an honorable fairy gentlemen, but you never were the best at telling stories.” Merlin tried not to show his minor humiliation. “It seems fitting that our guests of honor be the ones to tell their tale.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Moe snatched the book from Merlin and rather roughly opened it. “Hey, how come the pages are blank?”

“The last one to cast the spell is the last one who can read the book,” Merlin was trying not to sound rude and bitter, but wasn’t doing that great of a job.

“A lot of good that’ll do us,” Moe threw the book in the stage’s wings, resulting in some kind of thud. “Oops.”

“Moe,” Queen Renewa started, “perhaps your story is best told aloud by those who were a part of it.” She beckoned for the other two to come forward. “I feel it best that because you all share in the glory, you should all share in the story.” She waved her wand and created a seat for herself to sit in. “And you may tell it however you feel best.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Center-green thanked. “We’ll try not to let you down.”

“Dear Larry, it is highly unlikely for the three of you to bring me nothing but joy. I’m certain you have piqued the curiosity of the entire assembly; I suggest we get this started.”

“Well, gee,” Bald-blue began, “where do we even start?”

“It’s probably not my place Curly Joe, but perhaps it’s best that you start with a little exposition that led to the central part of the story.”

“You mean like how we got to where we got?” Renewa nodded. “Where do you think that was?”

Moe cleared his throat, “As the leader---”

“You’re not the leader,” Larry and Curly Joe agreed in unison.

Moe ignored that, “---I say it’s probably good to start around the time we graduated the Magic Academy.”

“ _Barely_ graduated,” Merlin muttered under his breath.

Moe managed to hear that though. “Who’s telling the story here?”

“My sincerest apologies,” Merlin’s “apology” didn’t sound all that sincere.

Moe turned to the crowd. “Sorry ladies and gents,” he then hearkened back to Merlin’s style by saying, “I sincerely hope that will be the only interruption from our professor,” some snickers were heard—even Queen Renewa managed to suppress a chuckle. “Anywho, I guess it all started around graduation almost twenty years ago…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The written medium isn’t always the easiest way to tell a story. I hope I can still do this story justice without visuals. The whole idea to tell the story in flashback was a bit of a last minute addition. I think it’s going to work better this way given what I have planned, but who knows.
> 
> Little throwback to "Snow White & the 3 Stooges" if anyone caught it.


	2. Graduation, Godparents, and a Girl

**_Some Time Ago..._ **

_“But we must not forget they have improved since their time at the academy.”_

Moe stood lookout on one side of the hallway as Larry strained to listen behind a close door. “What are they saying?”

“Somethin’ about improving,” Larry was trying to be inconspicuous. “I think it was one of the professors that said that.”

“That’s good, right?” Curly Joe questioned.

“Of course it’s good, dummy!” Moe snapped. “The reason the whole Fairy Academy faculty is in there is to decide whether or not to let us graduate.”

Larry couldn’t help but cringe at who was talking on the other side of the door. “I don’t think Professor Merlin wants us to.”

“Merlin! That windbag’s had it in for us since day one,” Moe then proceeded to mock said professor. “‘ _Of course not many fairies can say they were responsible for molding one of the greatest kings in all of history_ ’.”

“Then what’s he doin’ bein’ a teacher?” Curly Joe pointed out.

“Hang on,” Larry brought back the focus, “they’re saying somethin’ about fairy godparents.”

Moe (and Curly Joe) got in close. “What about?”

“So far how this graduation group can be considered to be Royal Fairy Godparents.”

Curly Joe gasped with delight. “Royal Fairy Godparents: one of the highest of honors for a fairy.”

“Now they just got done sayin’ how they never give the job to recent graduates.”

“What does the godparent thing have to do with us graduating from the academy anyway?” Moe inquired.

“I think they were just bringin’ it up to use against us graduating.”

“Betcha it was Merlin.”

“No, it was one of the lady fairies.”

“Even if recent graduates did stand a chance, the Fairy Council gives a position like that to a more experienced, elder fairy.”

“But the Fairy Queen has final say,” Curly Joe reminded.

“I doubt the queen even knows who we are. Keep listenin’ for---”

The door suddenly swung open, knocking the three eavesdroppers back. Standing in the door frame, was the Academy’s Headmistress. “I had a feeling someone was casting an eavesdropping spell out here.” Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe nervously chuckled. “Gentlemen: after careful consideration, we have agreed it is best to let you graduate.” The three began to celebrate. “I suppose there are questions in regard to the next choice in Royal Fairy Godparent?”

“Oh no, Ma’am,” Moe was trying to come across as innocent.

“Well, you do have a right to know that because the choosing will take place after you have graduated, you three shall be in contention…among the many other, thousands of fairies seeking this same position. Still, that is of little matter at the moment. Because we have agreed to this, you will be allowed attend the graduation ceremony. The faculty has just asked that you not participate in any of the spectacle and just come and receive your official wands and be on your way.”

“Understood, Ma’am.”

“It’s not that we’re not proud of you three—you have shown much improvement, after all—but the Academy isn’t fully reconstructed following your potions finals.” The three men did what they could do avoid eye contact. The potions final was one of the contributing factors against why they should _not_ graduate. “We do not want to take any more chances.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

She smiled at them, “Congratulations,” before flittering off in a different direction.

“Did you hear that?!” Larry couldn’t contain his excitement. “We get to graduate!”

“And we’ll get our official wands!” Curly Joe added with equal enthusiasm. He pulled the standard issue academy wand out of the right pocket of his standard issue academy robe. “We’ll no longer need these children’s toys,” With excitement, he threw it over his shoulder…

…and right at the out-coming Professor Merlin. The subsequent reaction was Merlin being transformed into a children’s toy. A Jack-in-the-Box to be more precise, with the professor contained in the box. Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe discovered this when they heard pounding, cursing, and vague threats from coming inside the box. Not wanting to be near should the box open, the three of them attempted to scatter before eventually fleeing in separate directions.

…

As time went on and things began to calm down, the upcoming Royal Fairy Godparent decision was on every fairy’s mind. Spring was fast approaching and with it, the impending royal birth. The choice of Royal Fairy Godparent usually didn’t have much thought going into it. A new prince or princess is born, the council of fairies selects contenders, the fairy queen has final choice, the new royal assigned a fairy godparent, the fairy godparent bestows a gift upon them, the fairy returns to the fairy kingdom, rinse and repeat. This instance, however, seemed more special.

Following his father’s untimely passing, Richard had become king at the tender age of ten. Though many had doubts, Richard had blossomed into a fair, wise, kind, and just ruler who brought the kingdom into a more modern age all while keeping with traditions. One tradition among royal circles was betrothals. Richard’s betrothed was Princess Jane. They had grown up together and formed a friendship that continued to last following their much celebrated wedding when they were both eighteen. Naturally, a royal heir was expected shortly after. A decade later, and that heir still hadn’t been produced. This proved to be devastating for the couple, both of whom always wanted children. So this upcoming royal baby was not just a blessing, but a miracle; a miracle for a beloved royal couple that only deserved good things following various setbacks and tragedies throughout their lives (including the loss of Jane’s parents when she was thirteen years old).

Queen Renewa knew that this choice was going to be one of the most important she would ever make in her 7,000 years as queen of the fairies. And the Fairy Council had not even come close to narrowing down their options. Both Richard and Jane’s respective godmothers were in contention, as were many repeat Royal Fairy Godparents, even a few retired Fairy Elders were being considered. She had many things to consider. Royal heirs were usually born shortly after a royal wedding (usually a royal honeymoon if she was being honest) and the selection of their godparent didn’t carry as much prominence for the heir; but one who was a literal gift from the heavens? This was a special offspring and the godparent had to be chosen special.

“Your Majesty,” a messenger interrupted Renewa’s contemplation. Still, she was eager to divert attention to what they had to say rather than this matter that was constantly eating at her. “It is the queen’s time.”

And this queen’s time was running out.

…

Various castle staff were trying to keep Richard distracted as he anxiously waited for news from the Royal Physician. While he had asked a few of his footmen to pace in his place, Richard was constantly fidgeting on his throne.

“ _…resulting in her spraining her royal…”_ the young squire was hesitant to read the next word aloud, but managed to squeak out a, “ _…rump.”_ This got a chuckle—whether it was out of humor or pity remained unseen—out of Richard. “ _However, I know how you and Jane enjoy visits with his young highness, so I shall be bringing my boy along to the inevitable Christening. Please save us a seat at the front. All the best, Leopold_ ,” the squire rolled up the parchment. “That was the last message for today, Sire.”

Richard nodded in acknowledgement. “This message deserves a proper reply, but I feel I am in no state to give one.” He nervously drummed his fingers on the armrest, silently cursing how long this whole childbirth thing was taking. “Someone just remind me that when I do, to send a small condolence for Abigail’s injury and subsequent absence. Perhaps send a courtier to the kingdom’s toymaker for a present for Augustus. Are you sure that’s _all_ the messages?”

“Yes, Sire.”

A sigh. “I wouldn’t be opposed to any of my staff starting a war to occupy my time,” this did relieve the tension for a moment. “Very well: who among my staff has a naughty story?” Eyes seemed to shift the squire. “Really?” The squire blushed and looked down. “I am pleasantly surprised and intrigued.”

“Well, Sire…my father has a fancy for bawdy poems and stories.”

“And you pass along a good one, then?” The squire nodded. “Then I call upon my kingly privilege: tell us the naughtiest one that you know.”

“Truly, Sire?”

“Truly.”

The squire nervously cleared his throat. “There once was a maid from Nantucket---”

“Your Majesty,” a new voice interrupted. The king instantly rose to his feet and hurried over to the source of the voice. “I’m afraid that there is bad news that comes with the good.”

Richard’s composure was beginning to falter. “Jane,” he breathed out his wife’s name. “My wife, is she---”

“This process was a trying ordeal for her, Sire. We were afraid that we would lose her, but we were able to save her, although she will need a little more time to heal.”

“But she is alright?” When the physician, nodded, Richard let out a long sigh of relief.

“However, in order to save her, we had to think quickly and…”

“And?”

“I shall be direct, Your Majesty: I’m afraid that the queen will be unable to bear children ever again.”

“As long as she is alive, that does not matter to me.” A pause. “What of the baby?”

“The queen has requested that she be the one tell you herself.” He stepped aside so that Richard could race out of the throne room and up to his wife’s bedroom. The maids standing in the front of the door stood aside and curtsied as he rather abruptly entered the room.

Jane was propped upright in bed amidst a mass of pillows. “Sometimes, Richard, you make quite the entrance.” He hurried over to her and kissed her with a fiery passion before holding her close to him. Richard couldn’t fight back tears as he breathed out her name. She smoothed her hand over his back. “I’m alright, Darling, truly; just a little tired and sore.”

“I hadn’t considered that I may lose you,” Richard confessed as he pulled away.

“Did the physician tell you?” Jane was trying not to get upset. “That I cannot---”

“Ssh,” the king tenderly brushed the queen’s hair back. “You’re alright, and that’s all that matters.” A tiny cry was then heard to the right of the queen’s bed. The source seemed to be coming from inside a cradle.

“Not _all_ that matters.” All Richard could do was stare at his wife in a mixture of elation and disbelief. “Go on, go look.” The king looked over the cradle’s contents, and gasped in wonder. “I wanted to be the one to tell you yourself, but I think someone else beat me to it.” Jane watched as Richard hesitantly reached his hands inside. “It’s alright,” she allowed.

Carefully, the new father scooped up the baby and held it to its chest. “Oh, Jane,” he let the baby’s tiny hands grip his finger. “Thank you.”

“You’re not disappointed that she is a girl?”

“How can I ever be disappointed in her,” he sat himself across from his wife so that Jane could get a better view of the baby.

”Isn’t she beautiful?”

“The most,” he agreed. “She’s got your hair.”

“I know, poor thing.” Jane gently stroked her new daughter’s cheek. “She has your nose.”

“All the more tragic.” As the newborn began to fuss, Richard planted a gentle kiss atop her head that calmed her down.

“You’re going to turn her into daddy’s girl,” Jane noted with good humor.

“It can’t be helped,” he couldn’t take his gaze off the princess. “I love her so much that words won’t do any justice.”

“Isn’t it amazing how someone can capture one’s heart so instantly?”

“It won’t be when the boys come to court.”

“Let’s not worry about the future. Now is all that matters. And now we have the most beautiful baby in the whole world.”

“I know I want to go and tell everyone, but I just want to stay here uninterrupted with my girls as long as I can.”

“Go on and tell everyone; I know you want to. I could use a little rest.”

“You’ve earned it.” He brought the baby closer to her mother so that Jane could give her a goodnight kiss. Once the infant was back in the cradle, Richard gave his wife a goodbye kiss and hurried off to tell everyone.

…

Following an update at the fairy council headquarters, Queen Renewa decided she would rather take a stroll to clear her mind than be escorted back to her castle. King Richard had postponed the christening until the first of the new month so that Queen Jane could regain her strength, which did give the fairies a little more time to choose who would be the princess’ godparent. Using an invisibility spell, she decided to take a walk around the fairy kingdom. This decision was weighing on her mind, and she knew that she had to make the best choice.

But what was the best?

As she strolled, she came across an odd sight. A house near the outskirts of the village that looked to be the result of a splatter paint fight. The house itself was structured like an average village home, but unlike the average village home, the outside of the house was meshed with three colors: red, green, and blue.

How peculiar.

What was also peculiar, was a man in green with wild hair pressing his wand atop the head of a stockier man in blue holding a mirror and eating a banana. This resulted in various styles of hair appearing on blue’s head. Blue would then shake his head then Green would try a different style. At one point, Blue tossed the remains of the banana aside and used his free hand to hold it up when he believed he found a hairstyle to his liking.

“I dunno, I think I like this one,” Blue ran his fingers through the curly locks. “Do all your choices have to be so curly though?”

Green gave Blue a dumbfounded look. “Your name is _Curly_ Joe!”

“But I was hoping for a style a little more long and luxurious.”

“Wouldn’t do you no good,” now there was one in red, “you’d still look ugly no matter what.” Red pulled out his wand and restored Curly Joe’s baldness, which caused Curly Joe to fold his arms and harrumph. “Whatcha makin’ Larry do this for? Why don’t you go and do it yourself?”

“Don’t you remember our first day of training? How they said about not using magic for our own selfish need. Wouldn’t choosing my own hair be selfish?” This definitely caught Renewa’s attention. “Besides, Larry’s got the most hair.”

“Just because I have the most of somethin’ doesn’t mean I know everythin’ about it,” Larry protested.

“A fair point,” Red agreed, “at least in your case.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means as the leader---”

“You’re not the leader,” Larry and Curly Joe were in sync on that.

“---I’m the one with the most brains. Which thankfully, I know how to use.”

“Say Moe,” Larry began, “wasn’t it you who picked the ingredient for the potion that blew up the academy laboratory?”

“I protest! I did pick the right ingredient…I just got confused which of the potions it needed to go in. But at least a good leader owns up to their mistakes.”

“You know any good leaders?” Curly Joe jested back.

Moe held out his hand in front of Curly Joe. “Pick two.” Curly Joe picked the index finger and the middle finger, which Moe then pressed into his eyes.

As a result, Larry began to laugh. His laughter ceased when Moe smacked him upside the head. “Hey! Whatcha do that for?”

“Don’t think I didn’t hear you also say I wasn’t the leader. Of the three of us, you know it’s me. I’m the one with the most confidence.”

“You’re also the one that does all the talking,” Curly Joe pointed out as he rubbed his eyes.

“Charisma is a key to leadership. That and good looks, which I also have plenty of.” No sooner had Moe said this that he slipped on a banana peel with his next step. Larry and Curly Joe laughed with delight as Moe splashed down in a nearby mud puddle.

“Yeah,” Larry said through laughter, “you’re lookin’ real good there Moe.”

Too busy laughing, Larry and Curly Joe failed to notice Moe had gotten up…until he had pushed them into the mud. Moe barely had any time to revel in his enjoyment when both Larry and Curly Joe pulled him back down into it. Following a small scuffle between them, the three of them eventually burst into laughter and embraced in a brotherly hug.

“Come on,” Moe was the first out of the mud and then helped his comrades up, “let’s get cleaned up.” He waved his wand at Larry and Curly Joe to clean them up. Larry and Curly Joe then waved their wands at Moe to clean him up. “What’ll it be for dinner boys?”

“Didn’t you just say you were the leader?” Larry reminded. “Shouldn’t you pick?”

“A good leader listens to what their followers have to say. Take the queen for example!” Naturally, this also got Queen Renewa’s attention. “One of the best rulers in all fairy existence and she always listens to what everyone says.”

“Yeah,” Larry agreed. “I feel kinda sorry for her now.”

“It must be hard to choose from all those other great fairies for the Royal Godparent,” Curly Joe added.

“But she wants to find the right fairy for the job, which means she wants to do what’s right.”

“And she’s so unselfish, she doesn’t even consider herself,” Moe concluded.

“She’ll make the right choice in the end!” Curly Joe stated with confidence. “She always makes the right choices.” The others nodded in agreement. “Should we ask her what she thinks we should do for dinner?”

With a smile, Renewa pointed her wand at them. “I don’t know why,” Moe started, “but I’m suddenly in the mood for meat and potatoes.” The three of them nearly stumbled backwards when they realized they were each holding a meal for three in each of their hands. “Did you---” Larry and Curly Joe shook their heads. “Huh.” Moe looked toward the sky. “If you’re up there, thanks,” with that, the three of them hurried into their colorful home for a meal fit for a queen.

“No,” Renewa continued to stare in their direction with a fond look on her face, “thank you.”

She had made a decision.


	3. Making Arrangements

Needless to say, the Fairy Council had a different opinion than the queen.

Still, Queen Renewa had a command in her presence when she held up a hand for and silence soon followed. “I realized that this decision would warrant questions and concerns. Nevertheless, it is _my_ decision.”

“Your Majesty,” the Prime Minister interjected, “never once in history has a royal been given three godparents at once…save for the time the queen of Tritium gave birth to triplets.”

“I do not think it fair to separate these gentlemen. They are at their best when all three of them are together, despite protests from administration at the academy. What I have witnessed between them cements my decision. They are honest, they are thoughtful, they are genuine, and they bring joy; but they do it best when they are together.” As the council cacophonied their comments, Renewa held up her hand again. “I realize you do not think much of them and only look at their faults, but they must be given a chance to truly prove their worth. I feel this will be the best example. This is my final decision on the matter.”

The Prime Minister sighed. “Very well, Your Majesty. We shall summon them right away.”

…

Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe anxiously waited outside the Council Headquarters, not knowing what to expect. “Whaddya think it is we did this time?” Larry inquired.

“Who says it’s something bad?” Curly Joe tried to stay optimistic.

“Why other reason are we being forcibly escorted by these bru---?” Moe cut himself short when he noticed the side-eyed glares from the guards. Letting out a nervous chuckle, he quickly corrected himself, “---by these fine gentlemen.”

The entrance doors opened and the guards led the three of them inside. In addition to the Fairy Council, the fairy queen was waiting there for them. After a moment of realization, the three of them bowed to Her Majesty. “Gentlemen,” Renewa began, “I would first like to assure you that you are not in trouble.” They each blew out a collective sigh of relief. “I have a very important question I must ask the three of you.”

The men exchanged confused glances between each other before Moe spoke up, “A question?”

“As you know: a selection for the next Royal Fairy Godparent is imminent. I was hoping that the three of you would like to share the honor of becoming godfathers to the newest princess.”

“Us?” the three of them vocally questioned back in unison.

“Moe, Larry, Curly Joe: would you like to take on the role of godfathers to the new princess?”

“Well…” Moe looked in between his companions and they each signaled their approval with wide smiles and enthusiastic head nods, “…we would like that very much, Your Majesty.”

“I was hoping you would agree. We will open the gates to the kingdom tomorrow at sunrise to send you along your way. Until tomorrow,” when she rose, everyone bowed. She casually approached the three, gave them a beaming grin, and flew away.

“Huh,” Moe let out a disbelieved, but glad chuckle. “Now how do you like that?”

…

“I love Jane, but there are times when she thinks I’m completely helpless,” Richard was jesting with his closest of friends and allies, King Leopold as he showed off the ballroom. “My forte may not be planning for a grand celebration, but I think I did alright.”

“I’m not one to ask on decor opinion,” Leopold admitted. He knelt to the level of the toddler clinging to his leg. “Here now, what do you think?” the little boy responded by hiding his face in his father’s leg. “Honestly Augustus,” Leopold picked up his son, “as the future king, you are going to have to get over this shyness.” Augustus responded by nestling his face into the crook of his father’s neck.

“He’s young,” Richard held out a custom made stuffed lion and presented it to the toddler. This perked the boy up as his hands immediately reached to grab the toy, “but he may surprise you.”

“You seem quite fond of my son.”

“I’ve known and loved him all his life. Until my daughter was born, I considered Gus to be like a child of my own.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t call him that. I named him Augustus for a reason,” Leopold looked at his son. “Didn’t I, Augustus?”

“Gus!” the little boy cried out.

“And you’ve turned my son against me. Thank you, Richard.”

“Come now, _Leo_ ,” Richard put a teasing emphasis on the shortened version of Leopold’s name, “it suits him far better than his given name.”

“Yes, but it was the only ‘A’ named that Abigail and I agreed on. Speaking of: have you and Jane come close to settling on a name? Surely it will start with ‘R’ to honor the father?”

“Yes, but Jane isn’t quite keen on naming her after my mother. She doesn’t think it’s fair to do that while my mother is still alive. However, we are running out of time, so I may just convince her to name our daughter Rebecca.”

“I think Rebecca is a fine name. It pairs well with Augustus, don’t you think?”

Richard raised a quizzical brow. “Are you implying something, Leopold?”

“Richard: I’d like to formerly request my son to be betrothed to your daughter.”

“You want Gus to marry my daughter?”

“Why not? You just said you love him like a son---”

“True, but---”

“And our children are going to grow up together, are they not? Build a relationship as friends first that will inevitably blossom to romance.”

“You seem quite sure of this.”

“It worked for you and Jane, didn’t it?” Richard acknowledged that with a small noise. “I was not an only child, nor was I the eldest; I wasn’t assigned a betrothed. When I become king after my older brother’s death, we had to scramble to find me a queen. Abigail and I didn’t even meet until the wedding celebration. Don’t misunderstand, I love Abby, but the woman is not the easiest to live with.” Another small noise of agreement from Richard. “I envy the relationship you and Jane have. If I can’t have that, I want that for my son. For Gus.”

Richard looked at Leopold’s son. It wasn’t like Gus had any idea what was going on. He seemed blissfully content clutching his lion in one hand and sucking the fingers of the other hand. Still, Richard did love Gus like he was family. Plus this arrangement would spare the possibility of Richard having to shoo other suitors for his daughter away. “Alright, Leopold; we’ll announce the arrangement tomorrow at the Christening.”

Leopold let out an excited cheer before addressing his son. “Did you hear that my boy? You’re going to be married!”

“In eighteen years, of course,” Richard felt the need to remind

“Of course, of course. Although, as long as one of the intendeds is already eighteen, we may be planning for the wedding in sixteen years.”

“There’s really no need to rush. Our children haven’t even been properly introduced.”

Leopold flippantly waved his hand. “Semantics.” Without warning, Leopold passed Gus to Richard and hurried off while listing details of his son’s future wedding.

Richard sighed and diverted his attention to the two year old. “You’re not in any rush to get married are you, Augustus?”

Augustus responded with a very firm, “Gus!”

…

It had seemed like the entire realm of the fairies had gathered at the kingdom’s gates to see Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe off. The fairies offered ideas for gifts, their well-wishes/congratulations, and hopes for the best (secretly hoping the men didn’t screw everything up).

Renewa was the last to approach them. “We have our exit portal arranged to take you to the palace ballroom. The king and queen have been notified of your arrival and should they not be able to greet you, they extend their welcome.”

“Your Majesty,” Moe began, “this is a big honor, really, but---”

She held up her hand. “I stand by my decision. Bless the princess with your gifts—though do try and keep them all different; it didn’t help that the Tritium triplets’ godmothers blessed them all with beauty.” This eased the three men’s anxiety enough to chuckle. “All the best,” she blew each of them a kissed, and guided them forward.

“Well,” Moe took a few steps forward, “here goes.” And together, the three of them went through the portal awaiting what was to come next.


	4. The Fairies Give Their Gifts

Who would have thought that one little princess would garner one big celebration? Not only had the citizens of her kingdom come to the castle to pay homage to her, but various other royals, nobles, and gentries had accepted their invitations and dropped everything to come to her Christening. The new parents managed to look both proud and humbled as they sat in their thrones, their daughter lying in the cradle next to her mother’s throne covered in a yellow blanket. Next to her father’s throne, stood another father with his own son clutching at his pant leg trying to hide his face from the large crowd of people.

“Before we begin the presentations and the ceremony,” Richard spoke up, “I would like to formerly announce that King Leopold and I—and Queen Jane,” he quickly added, “—have decided to properly betroth our daughter to Leopold’s son, Prince Augustus.” Cheers encompassed the ballroom. “So we feel it fitting that the princess’ first gift be presented to her by her future husband.”

Leopold set Augustus down and nudged him in the direction of the cradle. The little prince looked around the room, not quite comprehending what was going on. He held his gift closer to him, nearly crushing it and stared at the crowd like a deer in bright lights. The toddler let out a frightened whine and scurried behind the closest person standing.

With a good hearted chuckle, Jane rose from her spot, took Augustus by the hand, and led him to the cradle. “See the baby?” Augustus shook his head no. “Well, would you like to give her your present?” Said present was a small, pink rose. The boy looked around before thrusting it up toward Jane. “No, Gus," Jane laughed.

“No,” Gus repeated.

“Give it to the baby.”

“Baby!” Gus stood at the crib and looked over at his future bride. With an incomprehensible look on his face, he threw the flower into the crib and hurried back to his father, taking a slight stumble as he went.

“He means well,” Jane couldn’t help but tell the crowd as she adjusted the rose and put it in the little hair her daughter had. “I’m afraid our future groom is just a little shy.”

Richard laughed before addressing the crowd. “If our guests would like to form a line to present their gifts.”

The guests did just that. It all seemed to be going in an orderly fashion until the people in line started to topple over in a domino effect. The source seemed to have stemmed from the end of the line. At the end of the line, three men in red, green, and blue respectively, had helped each other to their feet. When they noticed all eyes were on them, the red one nervously laughed while the other two anxiously waved.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Richard started, “I believe the princess’ Royal Fairy Godparents have arrived.” The crowd began to murmur their opinions as Richard extended his hand. “We’ve been expecting you three,” he used his hand to beckon them closer. “Please come forward and present your gifts.”

This seemed to literally stop them in their tracks as their approaching came to a sudden halt. “Heh,” Moe was trying to keep cool, “excuse us for a moment, Your Majesties,” he brought his companions into a huddle.

“What’d you do that for?” Larry questioned.

“We haven’t decided what gifts we’re gonna give the princess!”

“Maybe we can say that got lost in the post,” Curly Joe suggested.

“Maybe we can say they got lost in the post,” Moe mocked before slapping him upside the head.

“Some fairy godfathers we are,” Larry bemoaned. “Our first day and we’re not even ready.”

“Well…as the leader---”

“You’re not the leader,” Curly Joe joined Larry on that.

“---I should be the one to go first.”

“Whatcha gonna give her?” Curly Joe inquired.

“It can’t be anything material. As Royal Fairy Godparents, we bless our godchild with special traits, or abilities, or what have yous. I think I can come up with something and then you guys can follow my lead.” Moe brushed himself off and led the way, Larry and Curly Joe quickly hurrying behind him. “Your Majesties,” when Moe bowed, his comrades did too (albeit, a tad awkwardly). “My brothers and I have come from the fairy kingdom to bless the princess with one gift each. May we?” Richard gestured for the three to gather around the cradle. Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe each looked down at the princess to try to determine what to gift her—subsequently cooing over her instead of getting to the task at hand. “It’s clear she doesn’t need the gift of beauty,” Moe called over to the king and queen, who then gave a goodhearted chuckle.

“But what does she need?” Curly Joe’s innocent question elicited shushing from his brothers.

“Say,” Moe reached into his robe for his wand, “I think I know what she needs,” he began to wave the red stick over the princess (capturing her attention in the process). “To go with her beauty, I gift unto the princess charm and grace. She will have a presence and charisma about her that no man—or animal—can resist, and she will have it all with grace.” The remnants of his wand sprinkled atop the princess, who then let out an adorable, little sneeze. “It’s working, already.”

“Hey, I got something!” Larry exclaimed. “Moe, switch with me.” He and Moe traded positions. “What good is all that beauty, and charm, and grace if she doesn’t have anything useful to do with it? So I’m gonna gift unto the princess talent and skill. She’ll have the abilities to do lots of things and do them good.”

“Do them _well_ ,” Moe corrected.

“Well, too,” the remnants from Larry’s wand fell down upon the baby like raindrops

“Hey that’s no fair!” Curly Joe quietly protested. “You guys took the good stuff. What am I supposed to give the princess?”

“Something you never had,” Moe had an insult coming, “ _smarts_.”

Curly Joe frowned at that. “I was plannin’ on that, but what can go with the smarts. You each got away with two things.”

“Then give her double the smarts.”

“But I’m not a good talker; how do I say I wanna give her double the smarts?”

Without warning, the doors to the castle suddenly threw open. “You might not have to,” at least Larry responded.

A powerful wind gusted through the ballroom as thunder boomed. A silver streak of lightning came from nowhere and struck the center of the ballroom. The caw of a raven drew attention as the raven flew to where the lightning struck. Then it seemed from out of thin air, a beautiful woman with dark hair materialized. Her outfit was black and silver and she carried a dark scepter with a silver ball atop it. The raven perched herself atop her shoulder and turned toward Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe, emitting a frightening shriek at them.

“Hush, my pet,” the woman spoke in an elegantly quiet voice as she stroked the bird. “There’s no need to make a scene.”

“It appears you’ve already done that, Endora,” Richard was trying not to show he was afraid as he acted as a shield for his wife.

“Endora!” Moe whispered.

“What?” Larry and Curly Joe seemed lost.

“Endora: that’s the name of the fairy that got banished all those years ago.”

“You’re guessin’ that’s her?” Larry deduced.

“You know any other Endoras?”

“Sure,” Curly Joe answered in all sincerity, “I think I know at least two more.”

“Ahem,” she cleared her throat at them, “if you three stooges are through, I have business to attend to.”

“Stooges!?” Moe took offense to that. “Why, I oughta--” Larry and Curly Joe held him back.

“And since we are speaking of attending: I assumed that I would have reason to be attending today’s festivities. Yet, I haven’t received my invitation.”

“You secluded yourself in those mountains all those years ago,” Richard reminded. “We hear nothing from you and assumed---”

“Excuses, excuses; was I to receive an invitation or not, Your Majesty?” Richard didn’t answer. “Your silence says it all.” Endora gave a reverent sigh. “It seems only yesterday I was in this very castle, bestowing my gift to your father. Quite frankly I saw nothing wrong with giving him the gift of ambition. How was I to know it would backfire and that your father would go mad with power and eventually have an early demise?” She had a very unique way of taunting the king. “I said nothing when I was denied a claim as Royal Fairy Godparent to you, Richard. And I was again denied the same claim for the same position for your own progeny. Then you go and further salt the wound by denying me an invitation. Your father had the decency to at least invite me to _your_ Christening. Granted, I declined the invitation, but it’s the thought that counts.”

“So you decided to come anyway.”

“I wanted to give your daughter my gift.” When Endora made her way toward the baby, the “stooges” instantly acted as a barrier. “Do you fools honestly think you can stop someone as powerful as me?” When she slammed her scepter down, everyone within range was flung to the ground. With a clear path, Endora looked down into the cradle. “Good day, little princess.” The princess looked up at this person. “I have a very special gift for you; one that I quite literally sold my soul to give you.” She took another look at the infant. “Yes, you will grow to be quite beautiful; there’s no mistaking. I suppose you should have some time to grow. And by the time the sun sets on your eighteenth birthday, you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel,” her smile became something sinister, “and then you will die.”

“NO!” Jane had fought off the effects of being hurled to the ground to run to her daughter.

“I have spoken!” With another slam of her scepter, Endora disappeared with a flash of silver lightning, her raven flying out of the wide open doors.

With Endora gone, everyone was able to get to their feet. Once on his, Richard ran over to his wife and daughter. “She can’t do this!” Jane was on the verge of hysterics. “Richard, we have to do something.” Once again, Richard’s silence said it all. “No!”

Richard tried to comfort his wife. “Jane--”

“NO! No, I refuse to believe there isn’t anything we can do.”

“Uh, excuse me,” Curly Joe meekly piped up, “I still haven’t given my gift.”

“Is now really the time for this?” Moe coldly questioned.

“I just meant like maybe there’s something I can do to help.”

Jane made her way over to him. “Can you stop the curse from happening?” Curly Joe sadly shook his head. “Then I’m afraid there’s nothing you can---”

“But since I use my magic for good, maybe there’s a way I can make it so something good can come out of the curse.”

Richard skeptically raised an eyebrow to Curly Joe. “Something _good_?”

“Like I can make it so she don’t die or anything.”

This raised some hope in Jane. “Can you?”

“Well…I was good at sleeping spells at the magic academy. But I don’t know if I---”

“Try,” Jane softly begged. “Please, try.”

Curly Joe nodded, cleared his throat, and pointed his wand at the baby. “I don’t know any special incantations or nothin’, so I’m just gonna say what I wanna do.” Jane nodded. “I’m gonna make it so that if the curse does happen, the princess won’t die. She’ll just fall into a deep sleep that will last no less than a hundred years. A sleep that she can be awaken from by the one thing that can break all spells.”

Jane looked in Richard’s eyes. “True love’s kiss.”

“If she can get true love’s kiss before the hundred years, then the spell is broken. If not…then she just sleeps until the hundred years are up.” The remnants of his wand dropped onto the baby. “I’m sorry, Your Majesties; but Endora is more powerful than us. I can’t promise this will work.”

“Thank you for your honesty.”

“We’re going to take all precautions to ensure that it won’t have to work. Endora’s curse will not be fulfilled,” Richard turned to his subjects. “I’m calling an emergency meeting of my council and all the learned men in the kingdom. Meet me in the library within ten minutes.”

Larry leaned toward Moe. “Does this mean the party’s over?” Moe answered him by slapping him upside the head.


	5. Three Godfathers and a Baby

Larry strained to hear behind the close door as Moe and Curly Joe stood some distance away in contemplation. “King Richard’s sayin’ somethin’ about burnin’ all the spinnin’ wheels in the kingdom.” He rose to his feet. “Like how if the kingdom didn’t have any spinnin’ wheels then---”

“Then Endora could just make one magically appear,” Moe interrupted. “The king’s intentions are good, but I don't think they'll work against that wicked witch.”

“And we don’t even know if Curly Joe’s sleepin’ thing is gonna work.”

“Maybe we oughta go and ask Queen Renewa for help,” Curly Joe suggested.

“I feel kinda sorry for the fairy queen. Here she goes and gets us the job and all this happens.”

“She couldn’t predict somethin’ like that was gonna happen. None of us have even heard anything about Endora since she got banished; maybe Queen Renewa doesn’t even know what happened.”

“And we shouldn’t get her involved!” Moe decided. “She stuck up for us and now we gotta stick up for her!”

“How we gonna do that?”

“We’ll have to think of something. Something that prevents Endora from getting anywhere near the princess.”

“What _can_ we do?” Larry inquired.

“That’s what’s got me baffled. Was is it that we can do; that we know is gonna work. What were we best at at the Magic Academy?”

“Accidentally blowin’ up the potions lab?” Larry’s response garnered a scowl from Moe. “It’s kinda hard to think of somethin’ we did good at. Screwin’ up seems to be what we do the best.”

“Particularly when it comes to magic,” Curly Joe added.

Moe snapped his fingers in a sort of realization. “But what if we didn’t have magic!” Larry and Curly Joe each shot him a confused glance. “Whenever we try and use our magic, things don’t always work. And when we manage to do good with magic, some evil fairy comes in and ruins it. So maybe if we didn’t have magic---”

“---some evil fairy won’t find us!” Larry finished.

“Exactly!”

“But it’s not us Endora’s after,” Curly Joe reminded, “it’s the princess. And the princess don’t have magic.”

“Oh yeah,” Larry slumped in a sort of defeat. “Plus we have to go back to the fairy kingdom sometime; we can’t stay in the castle forever.”

“It wouldn’t be forever; just eighteen years.”

“Come again?”

“We have eighteen years to make sure the princess doesn’t touch a spinning wheel. Once the sun sets on her eighteenth birthday, then the curse is over.”

“Yeah, but this castle’s so big and probably has a buncha hidden passages and places we don’t know about. The princess could get lost and Endora could get her then.”

“Yeah,” Moe was on the verge of a new idea, “but what if the princess never got lost?”

“Someone would have to be watchin’ her all the time. There ain’t no way she can be watched every minute of every day.”

“Or if Endora’ll do anything to the people watchin’ her,” Curly Joe added.

“Hear me out,” Moe had a plan, “what if we protect the princess, but not at the castle. We take her somewhere where no one can find her and hide her until her eighteenth birthday; and we never once use magic so we don’t screw up.”

Larry seemed uncertain. “Don’t it seem a little wrong three guys alone with a girl where no one knows where she is?”

“When you put it like that it does,” Curly Joe replied.

“It’s the only way we can keep the princess safe,” Moe countered. “We can tell her we’re here uncles.” The others still seemed unsure. “Queen Renewa gave us the chance to prove ourselves. This is it. And we’re the godfathers; we’re supposed to look after our godchild.”

Larry and Curly Joe exchanged glances, and then a nod. “Okay Moe,” Larry spoke up, “you got us convinced.”

“I knew I would.” Moe then noticed the knowing smirks on their faces. “What?”

Curly Joe pointed at him. “Now _you_ gotta be the one to convince the king and queen.”

…

The three of them managed to get a private audience with the king and queen later that evening. As gently and as eloquently as he could, Moe laid his plan out before the king and queen.

“When you say no one will know where she is,” Richard was about to question, “does that include us? Her own parents.” Moe bit his lip and nodded before looking down at the ground. “I see.”

Jane had emitted a sort of gasp at this. “You can’t possibly be considering this?”

“Jane---”

“Richard, this is our child! Who better to keep her safe than her own parents?”

“But what if Endora does something to us as well? I’ve heard stories about this fairy; she refuses to surrender to anyone’s whims and won’t let anything stand in her way.”

“Well neither will I!”

“Believe me Your Majesty,” Moe was still speaking softly to her, “we wouldn’t have suggested this if it wasn’t in the best interest of the princess. We admire that you’d be willing to go up against Endora, but Endora is a powerful, evil fairy with magic beyond even our capabilities.”

“But all fairies are bound by a code to never kill. How did she even make the curse possible?”

“Endora did say she sold her soul for the curse,” Curly Joe remembered. “That’s the very definition of making a deal with the devil.”

“And if she can’t kill you, she’d probably do her worst,” Larry noted.

“Her worse?” Jane didn’t realize how bitter she was sounding. “Gentlemen, I feel there is nothing worse than losing a child,” she swallowed a lump, “I know from experience what that is like.” Richard reached for her hand, but she pulled it away. “When I finally have what I’ve always dreamed of, everyone wants to take it away from me.”

“We don’t _want_ to,” Moe gently defended, “we just want to keep the princess safe.”

“We promise we’ll take the best care of her,” Larry tried to sway her in their direction.

“And then we’ll bring her back as soon as the curse is lifted,” Curly Joe tried to help.

“We’re her godfathers,” Moe reminded, “we’re supposed to help look out for her. And who would ever consider three screw-ups like us to do something like this?”

Jane took a deep breath. “Eighteen years. Eighteen years of not knowing where my daughter is or the kind of woman she’ll grow up to be. All the things we will miss out on, all the things _she_ will miss out on.”

When Richard reached for her hand, she didn’t back away. “What we wanted most for our daughter was for her to grow up to be happy, healthy, and loved. I have no doubt her godfathers will take the greatest care of her.”

Jane looked at Richard, looked at the godfathers, and then hurried away without saying a word.

“Thank you for your time, Your Majesty,” Moe thanked the king. “We’re sorry we ever suggested this.” The three of them turned to leave.

“Wait!” all the men turned around to see Jane come back onto the scene cradling a yellow-blanketed bundle as close to her as she could. “If I allow you to do this: you must promise me one thing.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“I only ask that you call her Rose.” Jane looked down at the baby. “For the most beautiful of flowers pales in comparison to mine,” she tenderly stroked her baby’s cheek. “A rose by any other name would be so sweet.”

“Rose?”

“This also honors the tradition of naming the heir with the same letter as the parent of opposite gender.” For some reason, the queen chuckled, “the palace physician was so convinced she was going to be a Jacob that for a while I believed him.”

“Darling,” Richard approached his wife, “I thought we were going to announce her name was Rebecca, after my mother.”

“I can’t explain why, but it doesn’t suit our daughter. The kingdom would have probably been expecting us to name her that anyway, but I never wanted to while your mother is still alive.”

“The ceremony was never performed; our daughter’s name was never announced to the public.”

“And to keep her safe, we are going to keep it that way.”

“Jane---”

“If I’m going to give up my child, can I at least be given this?”

Richard looked down at his daughter and noticed the prince’s gift had been placed in her hair. “You always did love roses, Jane.” This was his way of conceding. He looked at the three godfathers. “Do you promise to honor this royal request?”

“We promise,” the three of them agreed in unison (albeit, solemnly).

Richard turned to Jane and held his arms out. “No,” Jane refused, “I want to spend what little time left as close to her as I can be.” He nodded in understanding before cradling his hands around his daughter and bestowing a tender kiss atop her crown. Jane remained steadfast as she went over to the godfathers. She seemed to give the matter thought before reluctantly the baby to a surprised Curly Joe. “Thank you for your gift,” she gave Curly Joe a thank you kiss on the cheek, before bending down to give her daughter one last kiss. “Take care of my Rose.”

“We will,” Moe vowed. He gave their majesties a bow and turned to leave. Larry followed suit. Curly Joe, however, remained unsure as he held the baby in his arms.

“If you don’t leave now, you never will.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Curly Joe apologized. “I’ll try to make it that she grows up just like you.” With that, he sadly turned around and followed his companions out of the castle.

The queen remained motionless, even as the king approached her from behind. He said no words as he led her to the balcony. Together, they watched as the three men disappeared into the night with their most prized possession. And when they were out of sight, that’s when Jane’s bravery faltered and she collapsed into her husband’s arms in hysterical sobbing. Richard tried his best to console his wife, speaking to her calmly and soothingly rubbing her back, but even he couldn’t stop his own tears from falling.

…

The godfathers made sure they were nowhere in sight of the castle grounds when they stopped in the middle of the forest. “Alright,” Moe looked around, “there’s no turning back. Here and now is when we stop using our magic.”

“Is here and now where we’re gonna live for the next eighteen years?” Larry questioned.

“Oh, ye of little faith. Somewhere in the middle of this forest is the abandoned cottage of the seven dwarfs.”

“And you know this how?”

“Through our pen pal program. In their last message, the dwarves said they were going off to discover the lost city of Atlantis and accidentally stumbled upon the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. They’ve made a permanent residence there, and we will make a temporary residence…wherever their cottage is.”

“You don’t even know where it is?” a bewildered Curly Joe asked.

“I just know it’s somewhere in the middle of this forest. They gave me directions on how to find the place if I ever came to visit. Now if only I could remember…”

“Maybe we can use magic this one last time?”

“We have to get used to not using it! We’ll just have to---”

“Hey, look!” Larry pointed to an approaching bunny rabbit. It was a pure white bunny rabbit with a golden tail. “That bunny’s got the same colors as Queen Renewa’s outfit.”

“Maybe it’s Renewa trying to help us,” Curly Joe suggested.

Moe knelt down to the rabbit. He stared at it intently for a moment before smiling. “One day we’ll thank you properly for everything, Your Majesty.” It seemed that the rabbit nodded before turning and hopping in a different direction. “The white rabbit’s gonna lead us to where we’re gonna go.”

“The last time that happened, we got lost in some weird topsy-turvy land and nearly lost our heads.”

“You got any better ideas?” Curly Joe sighed and shook his head. “Now man up and follow the fluffy bunny!” Curly Joe gave Moe a noise of displeasure before following the rabbit further into the forest.

Eventually, they were lead to a cottage somewhere in the midst of the woods. Moe made sure the others stayed back as he cautiously entered the cottage. “Coast is clear; there’s not a soul in site.”

Larry patted the rabbit’s head. “Thanks a million, Your Majesty,” the rabbit then hopped away. “So this is our new place, huh?”

“At least we’re big enough to fit in it. We got our living space, our dining space, the kitchen to make the food for the dining space, and three of us can set up some beds over there to sleep.”

“Where’s the princess gonna sleep?”

“Little Miss Rose is gonna get a big space,” Moe guided the men upstairs. “A whole upstairs to herself, door included for when she needs some privacy.”

Curly Joe held the wide-awake baby up to examine her new surroundings. “Whaddya think, Your Highness?”

“Ah-ah-ah, none of that! We can’t take any chances. She can’t know she’s a princess until it’s time to bring her back home. As far as she’s concerned, she is our godchild in the care of her three, loving uncles.” Moe held his hand out. “And we are going to promise from henceforth to be the best guardians there’ll ever be.”

Larry slapped his hand on Moe’s. “Come what may.”

Curly Joe adjusted his hold on the princess before putting a free hand on top of theirs. “ _Ad infinitum_ ,” Moe and Larry each gave him an odd look. “Is it a crime to want to expand on one’s vocabulary?”

“Do you even know what you’re sayin’?”

“I just like the sound of it, is all.”


	6. Not All Questions Have Answers

_**Eight Years Later** _

It became more and more evident as time went on that the gifts (two of) her godfathers had given Rose had taken effect. Little Miss Rose was quite a little charmer—particularly when she manipulated her way into staying up past her bedtime. And while she had instantly charmed her guardians, the animals of the forest seemed to be drawn to her too. She was also very graceful—especially in comparison to her accident-prone protectors—and exuded a somewhat sophisticated style (though that could have also stemmed from being born into royalty). Ever resourceful, Rose was also quick to find things to do and to do them well. She caught on quick when her uncles taught her how to do household chores. Heck, she even became a better sewer than they ever could be. The talent was also evident when Uncle Larry taught her how to play on his fiddle and she quickly mastered that instrument. She was even much better at singing than the three of her uncles put together.

And yet, she never wanted to sleep.

“There’s always so much to do,” the eight year old protested as Uncle Moe flung her over his shoulders and carried her upstairs. She had matured a bit by this point not to kick and scream (which the men were grateful for). “Why do I have to go to sleep?”

“Because everybody has to go to sleep,” Moe had told her when he tucked her in. “That’s how we get our energy.”

“But I have energy!”

“If we don’t go to sleep, then the sun won’t come up when we wake up.”

“I woke up once and it was still dark out.”

Oh, this was going to be a challenge. “Well…people often get up once in the middle of the night.”

“Why?”

“To get a drink of water, to go to the bathroom after drinking all that water, maybe they get up because they had a bad dream---”

“Then how come I never had a bad dream?”

Moe was intrigued. “You’ve never had a bad dream?” She shook her head. “That’s a good thing. No one likes bad dreams.”

“How do people get bad dreams?”

“Usually if they saw something that really scared them. You can also get bad dreams if you’ve got a lot you’re dealing with and you don’t know how to deal with them. Sometimes a bad memory is also a bad dream.”

“I’ve never been really scared.”

“That’s because you’re a really brave girl.”

“How come I don’t have bad mem’ries?”

“Again, that’s good. It means you’ve been raised with nothing but good things in your life. Plus you’ve never had to deal with so many things at once.”

“Will I when I’m grown up?”

“I’m sure you will.” Rose let out a mournful sigh. “What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

“Am I like other people?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You say people get all these things that happen to them and I’ve never had them happen. But I don’t know other people. Why don’t I know other people?”

“We’ve talked about this, Rose. We want to keep you safe from strangers. There are a lot of people who want to hurt others, and we don’t want you to meet someone who wants to hurt you.”

“Why do people want to hurt others?”

Moe had caught on. “Oh, no! You’re not gonna keep staying up by asking all these questions, little miss.”

“But I’m not sleepy.”

“Make yourself sleepy.”

“How?”

Moe sighed. “Just be quiet, alright.” The little girl bounded out of bed and went over to her stack of books. Her red-dressed guardian couldn’t help but chuckle at her manipulation tactic. “Goodnight, Rose.”

“Night, Uncle Moe.”

Moe left the door slightly open as he went downstairs to join Larry and Curly Joe. “Why is it that kids want to know everything there is to know in the universe?”

“Moe,” Larry began, “what are we gonna do when she starts asking… _important_ questions.”

“I told you: Curly Joe will go into the village and get the book on womanhood when she---”

“Not that kinda stuff!”

“We meant like about her parents,” Curly Joe clarified. “Sooner or later she’s gonna find out about moms and dads and want to know about hers.”

“What if she asks why they didn’t want her?”

“How would she react if we told her that her parents _did_ want her?”

“If we told her we were keepin’ her safe, she’d want to know what we were keepin’ her safe from.”

“And how come I gotta be the one to get the woman book?”

“Because you’re the only one who goes into the village, Ignoramus!” a short-tempered Moe answered before calming down. “I just explained to her how there are some people out there who want to hurt others, and that is why we keep her here away from other people.” He sat in between them. “You know she just got done telling me that she’s never once had a bad dream.”

“She should consider herself lucky,” Larry commented.

“Is it wrong that I don’t think that’s normal? Everyone has at least one bad dream in their life. Then she’ll be around other people all the time. What if they don’t accept things about her and the way she was raised?”

“You’re not the only one who has doubts about her upbringing,” Curly Joe assured. “I worry all the time if we’re doing the right thing. What do have to learn from if we gotta learn as we go?”

“Well…” Moe looked up and noticed a figure trying to eavesdrop at her door. “…let’s worry about this later,” he started nonverbally gesturing that Rose was trying to listen. Then a little louder he said, “It’s time for us all to go to bed.” The men each heard a small huff and watched her figure disappear back into her bedroom. “You think this would be easier if she had been born a Jacob instead?”

…

When it was time for an “outdoor adventure”, one of her guardians would follow her into the forest and let her play. Today was Uncle Larry’s turn. “Look Uncle Larry,” she excitedly pointed to a baby deer. “My friend came out to play!”

“I thought all the animals were your friends?” Larry jested back.

“Bambi’s my most special one.”

“Your friend’s name is Bambi?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did you name him that?”

“Yep! I read it in one of the books Curly Joe got me from the village.”

“Good for you.”

“Uncle Larry, how come I can’t ever go to the village?”

“Only Uncle Curly Joe goes to the village; not even me or Uncle Moe do.”

“Why’s that?”

“Uh…” Larry faltered on an answer until he remembered something Moe had said, “…because a village is full of lots of strangers. Uncle Curly Joe deals with strangers better.”

“How come I can’t go with Uncle Curly Joe?”

“You gotta be older to go into the village.”

“How much older?”

“Older like me.”

“So a hundred?”

“More like four hundred,” Larry quipped under his breath. Fairies had a longer life span than humans and he and the others had lived a few hundreds of years.

“I wanna live to be hundred.”

“Maybe you will.”

“Hey, there’s another Bambi Deer.”

“Huh?” he looked where Rose was pointing.

“Right there. It’s like Bambi, only bigger.”

“That’s probably the mama deer.”

“Mama Deer?” Whoops. “What’s ‘mama’?”

“It’s a…well…” innocent eyes blinked up at him awaiting a response, “why don’t you save that question for later. Maybe Uncle Moe can answer it better.”

“Okay,” a not quite satisfied Rose made her way to the deer while an anxious Larry started biting at his nails wondering how he was gonna get out of this one.

…

“Say Rose,” Larry started when they returned to the cottage, “why don’t you go and paint a picture of your friend from earlier.” The eight year old nodded and went to her room while Larry rushed over to Moe and Curly Joe. “Hey guys, we got a problem.”

Curly Joe set down his needlepoint and started searching for the first aid. “What animal bit you and where this time?”

“Not that kinda problem! It’s a Rose problem.”

“Where’d she get bit?”

“No! Earlier she saw a baby deer with its mother. When she asked me who the bigger deer was, I accidentally told her it was a mama deer.”

Moe slammed the pot he was carrying down. “You lamebrain! What’d you go and say that for?”

“It just slipped out! Now she’s gonna wanna know what a ‘mama’ is.”

“And what are we gonna tell her?” Curly Joe asked Moe.

“What?” Moe looked around. “Whaddya all lookin’ at me for.”

“You’re the leader,” Curly Joe and Larry stated in tandem.

Moe let out a noise of frustration hoping he wouldn’t lose his temper. “Maybe she won’t ask. Kids tend to forget things easy.”

“This one doesn’t,” Larry commented.

“Yeah,” Curly Joe agreed, “she’s way smarter than us.”

Clearly, Larry and Curly Joe weren’t making it any easier. “This is another wait and see type deal.”

“We sure do got a lot of those.”

“Shut up and get back to your sewing!” Curly Joe grumbled in frustration as he returned to his needlework. “And you,” Moe pointed at Larry, “you go and make yourself useful.”

Larry looked around the cottage. “What’s there to be used?”

“Just stay out of the way and don’t say anything else!”

“Who made you in charge?”

“I believe it was just made clear that I was the leader.”

“Well, we only said it so you’d be the one to tell Rose.”

“That so? Well, lemme tell _you_ something you---”

“I finished my painting!” Rose announced as she made her way down the stairs.

Moe was quick to turn on a dime when Rose was near. “You finished that fast?”

“Uh-huh!” She proudly displayed her work. “There’s Bambi Deer, and there’s Mama Deer.”

Moe cast a side-glare to Larry. “Is that so?”

“Uncle Larry said you were better at answering. Do you know what ‘mama’ is?”

“Well…” Moe tried a new strategy, “what do you think a ‘mama’ is.” He noticed Rose bite her lip, something she often did when something was eating at her. “What’s the matter?”

“A couple of my books talk about mamas and papas. How they take care of kids until they grow up. Papas are the boys, but mamas are the girls. Mama Deer is a girl deer who takes care of Bambi Deer. How come I don’t have a mama to take care of me?”

“Well…you see…it’s like---”

“Not everyone grows up with a mama,” Curly Joe interceded. “We didn’t.”

“Then how come you’re not papas?” Rose pointed out. “You’re _uncles_.” Clearly, they didn’t know how to answer that. “Why are you uncles and not papas?”

“Sometimes things just are the way they are and we have to accept them,” Moe gently answered. “Not every question has an answer, Rose, and you just have to accept that.”

“But I want to know!”

“And maybe when you get older, you will.”

“Older! Older! Older! Why do I have to be older?”

“Because when you get older, you understand things more. You gain more wisdom and experience as you grow up. You’re already one smart kid, and you’re only gonna get more smarter. Meanwhile, your old uncles are as smart as we’re gonna get.”

“And we’re not that smart,” Larry joked.

“Hey,” Moe lifted a pouty Rose’s chin to look into his face, “we’re only saying this because there’s so much you want to know that we can’t tell you. We just want you to understand that for when we can’t answer any of your questions.” Rose didn’t say anything. “Okay?” She merely nodded. “What’s the matter, kiddo?”

“Can I go up to my room now?” she quietly requested.

“Without any dinner?”

“I don’t feel like eating.”

“Why’s that?” She shrugged. Moe decided not to press any further. “Alright, if that’s what you want to do. Goodnight, Rose.”

Rose bade her them goodnight, gave them each a hug, went upstairs and closed the door behind her. “Why can’t I be older?” Immediately, she sought out her “blankie”. “I wish I was older.” She hugged the small, yellow blanket close to her chest and felt a small sense of comfort. After a few moments, she laid the blanket onto her bed and went over to her vanity table—one of the few furniture items that her uncles thankfully didn’t build/put together. Unsure of what to do next, she just stared at the girl in the mirror staring back at her before closing her eyes for just a moment…


	7. A Very Special Birthday Morning

_**Ten Years Later** _

Opening her eyes, Rose stared at the woman looking back at her. With a sigh, she reached for her brush. Today was a special day and she wanted to look special for it. It wasn’t every day she turned eighteen. Plus her uncles had promised her that on her eighteenth birthday, they would all go into the village following a little celebration at the cottage. Rose didn't know what, nor did she know why, but she knew there was something different about today. As if something was about to happen that would change her life forever. Still, she just knew this was something she was waiting for.

And dammit she was going to look her best for it.

…

“Alright gents,” Moe slammed a book down on the table, “this is the last birthday we’re going to celebrate with Rose, just the three of us. We have to make it special.”

“How we gonna do that?” Curly Joe questioned. “We’re already gonna take her into the kingdom and have her meet her long lost parents.” The others shushed him. “Well, what’d be more special than that?”

“I was thinking this,” he pointed to the picture in the book.

“I don’t think it’s your style.”

“Not for me, for Rose! She deserves a nice dress fit for a princess.”

“A dress like that is gonna take longer than a few hours for me to make.”

“You’re not going to make it! I am.”

“ _You_?” even Larry was surprised by this.

“Yes, _me_. Every year I make the cake; this year I want to do something different.”

“But you make the cake so good,” Larry whined. “Who’s gonna make it as good as you?”

“ _You_.”

“ _Me_? But I never cook.”

“Today’s the last day for you to try.” Moe reached for another book he left on the table and pointed to a picture of a cake. “I was gonna make this one.”

“Gee, that looks fancy. You think I can do it?”

“If I can make the dress, you can make the cake.”

“Hey!” Curly Joe protested. “What am I s’posed to do then?”

“You’re gonna distract Rose long enough for us to do this.”

“How? What are we gonna do for all that time? And what about if you guys need help? I’m the best at sewing, and I have cooked before. If you can’t do it on your own…”

“Then who’s gonna keep Rose out of the house?”

“Say Moe,” Larry began, “seein’ as it’s her birthday; maybe we should let her go by herself.”

“I’d ask you if you were out of your mind, but I don’t think you ever had one. We should enjoy what little time we have with her before we take her where she truly belongs.”

“But when we bring her back, she’ll be the princess. All that time catchin’ up with the king and queen, meeting her people, when’s she gonna get any alone time for herself? Let alone with us.”

“Plus she’s still technically betrothed to Prince What’s-His-Name,” Curly Joe added.

“We can trust Rose alone, she knows better; nothin’s gonna happen. In all this time, we’ve never once seen another human anyway. It could be like a gift to her.”

Moe gave a conceding sigh. “Rose!” he called up the stairs before muttering, “I hate it when I’m not the one who’s right.”

Rose hurried down the stairs. “Good morning,” she greeted each uncle individually with a kiss to the cheek.

“Happy Birthday, Sweetheart,” Moe wished as she kissed his cheek. Larry and Curly Joe then chorused their ‘happy birthdays’.

“Thank you,” she thanked. “Say, do you think this looks alright?” she twirled around in her dress.

“Rosie Posy, you look beautiful as always.”

“You always say I look beautiful.”

“You always do.”

“But I want to look special. Today I turn eighteen and you want to bring me into the village. I want to make a good first impression.”

“Well, first you’re gonna celebrate with your old uncles beforehand.”

“Alright! What should we do?”

“We actually had something in mind before the celebration, as a gift to you.”

“Oh?”

“We have a few last minute preparations to make for your party; how would you like to go out into the woods for a couple hours, just you?”

Rose’s face lit up. “Really? On my own?”

“Just for a couple-a hours; three tops if we don’t come to getcha.”

“And you gotta stay close to the cottage,” Larry added.

“Oh, I will!” Rose promised. “I promise.”

“Atta girl,” Moe patted her back. “Now go on, and when you come home we’ll have a few more surprises for you.”

“Thank you!” she hugged each of her uncles. “I just knew today was going to be the best day!”

…

While a certain princess was having a great day, a certain evil fairy was not. Endora’s lair was already a doom and gloom sort of place, but the constant thunder for the last eighteen years made it gloomier. The thunder was an indication of Endora’s anger at not having her evil prophecy fulfilled.

“Eighteen years,” she said to herself before rising from her chair and making her way to the minions. “Eighteen years and not a single trace of her! She couldn’t have vanished into thin air.”

“But we’ve looked everywhere,” the head minion defended. “All the towns, all the forests, all the mountains, all the houses, and all the cradles.”

One of Endora’s brows quirked up. “Cradles?”

“Yep, yep; every cradle.”

“Is that so,” Endora held out her hand and her raven flew onto it. “Did you hear that, Lucifer: every cradle. It’s as if for the last eighteen years, they’ve been looking for a _baby_.” Endora began to cackle, and soon her minions joined in. “FOOLS!” the cackling came to a sudden stop and the silver orb on her scepter began glowing.

“Uh-oh,” her minions knew what was coming next as silver lightning emitted from the scepter and zapped at them, chasing them out of the room.

“They’re hopeless,” Endora lamented as she slumped into her throne. Her raven flew to her side. “Darling, Lucifer; this curse has cost me so much. It’s not just my soul that I sacrificed, but also a great deal of my power. I would have found her in an instant if I knew my power would be sustained away from my lair.” She looked at her pet. “That is why _you_ are my last hope.” Lucifer seemed to nod in understanding. “You will not be accompanying those idiotic imbeciles. I need you to circle as far and wide as you can. You would be looking for a maiden of eighteen who bears a striking resemblance to Queen Jane, and is no doubt isolated from most of the world.”

“Caw,” Lucifer responded.

“Go,” Endora sent him off, “and do not fail me.”

…

An aged King Richard stood on the balcony and stared into the distance—unaware of the ominous raven flying above. “No sign of her yet,” when he let out a longing sigh, he got a scoff in response from behind him.

The scoff came from his longtime friend, (an equally aged) King Leopold. “Of course there isn’t, the day’s just begun after all,” he then munched down on a large piece of meat. “The chefs have prepared a banquet for breakfast and neither you nor Jane have touched it.”

“Jane’s resting. She had trouble falling asleep last night, so I told her to rest. She hasn’t been in the best of health for the last eighteen years and---”

“---and all that will change once your daughter returns; I know, I know.”

“Eighteen years, Leopold! Eighteen years of worrying, of never knowing---”

“Will be in the past! Now, we’ll look forward to the future; like the wedding of our children, for example.”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down; I haven’t even seen my daughter yet. Jane and I need time with her, to get to know her.”

“And what about Augustus? He’s marrying your daughter, isn’t he?”

“Yes, and she and him will also need time to get to know one another. There’s no need to rush things.”

“We’re not getting any younger, man! You want grandchildren, don’t you?”

“Well…I…I suppose.”

“And I want that son of mine to show a little responsibility. I feel something is wrong with him; he’s not like other princes. He’s too…too _quiet_.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“He’s quiet and he keeps to himself. Gotten out of a lot of things by sheer, dumb luck too. Plus the boy’s always been shy; he needs to show some initiative. He never stands tall, has no pride in himself. Maybe having a good woman will do wonders for him.”

“I don’t know; Gus has always been uncomfortable around the opposite sex and---”

“Augustus! Why must you insist on calling him by that god forsaken name?”

“Because Augustus never suited him; he’s always been a Gus.” Leopold made an indistinguishable noise. “Speaking of: where is he? Shouldn’t he be here?”

“He wanted to stay one more night to ‘process everything’,” Leopold used air quotes for that last part. “Twenty years old, never once traveled on his own, and he chose this time to do so. Augustus has no sense of direction; he even gets lost in his own castle on numerous occasions! Your daughter may show up long before he even will.”

“And I can’t wait.”

Leopold decided to cave. “I’ll bet my entire kingdom that she’s the spitting of image of Jane.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. She’ll look every bit like her mother except she’ll have---”

“Your nose!”

“---my nose!” They shared a laugh at that.

“She’ll come sooner rather than later. Until then, you should eat something; won’t do you any good standing around in wait all day.”

“I suppose,” Richard sat down at the table. “By this time tomorrow I could be having breakfast with my daughter.”

“And her new husband.” Richard gave Leopold an ‘are you serious’ type face. “Well…new fiancée then.”


	8. A Meeting Out of a Fairy Tale

Rose whistled to a yellow and brown bird in the treetops to get their attention. Upon seeing her, they perked up and began to tweet enthusiastically. She held up the woven basket she brought with her. “Wanna help me pick berries?” They tweeted their approval and flew to her side. “Psst!” she called to the squirrel resting on another tree. When he didn’t respond, her flying friends decide to rouse his attention. “Arthur!” the squirrel turned to Rose. She lifted her basket and shook it. He seemingly nodded his approval before going into the tree and waking up an owl. The owl didn’t seem all that thrilled until he noticed Rose. “Good morning,” she greeted. “I am sorry I had Arthur disturb you, Junius, but I really wanted to see you; Arthur, Goldie, and Tawny too.”

“Hoo!” Junius hooted at her.

“No, my uncles aren’t around. It’s just me.” Another hoot. “I know, I don’t believe it either. Oh Junius, I have so much to say and I’ll just burst if I don’t.” Junius’ next hoot seemed to be slight protest. “That’s just it,” when he noticed the change in her tone, Junius flew to her, “I don’t know when I’ll be back tomorrow. For my birthday, they want to take me into the kingdom.” The animals seemed to gasp. “I don’t know if there’s any more to it, but I can’t be too sure. Today I turn eighteen.” The animals seemed to cheer. “Yes, but I’m officially a grown up today. I can be among other grown-ups now.” Arthur made a chattering noise. “No, I don’t know any _yet_.” Another chatter. “There’s no need to be jealous. It won’t be goodbye forever…” she sighed, “at least I hope it won’t; I don’t want to promise that in case something should happen.” She cleared her throat and stood as straight as she could. “Let’s not worry about what’s going to happen when now is all that matters. And now…” she swayed her basket, “I want to pick some berries. Someone go wake Peter and Roger; hop to it,” she ordered with a giggle before leading the way through the forest.

…

“No, no I think we passed that tree before,” a man on a horse was trying to determine his surroundings. “Actually, maybe we didn’t.” The horse nickered in aggravation. “Okay, yes, I got us lost!” An annoyed snort. “Oh don’t give me that attitude, Mister.” The same snort in response. “You seem so certain of that despite you never having been to Richard’s castle.” It appeared this man was carrying on a conversation with this horse. “Then we keep going until we see the kingdom village and head in that direction, or until we come across someone who can help us,” the man gripped the reins, “Ideally the former. Who knows what kind of people one finds in the woods.”

…

“…one doesn’t find many people in the woods,” Rose was also carrying on a conversation with various fauna—which now included two gray rabbits, “at least not this one.” She leaned against a tree with a longing sigh. “Ever since I was little I’ve wanted to meet more people. Now that opportunity has come and I don’t know if I’m ready. If only there was such thing as a practice person.” Tawny chittered at her. “Someone I can meet before going into a crowd and make sure I know how to act like a person.” Goldie twittered at her. “You know: how to walk, how to talk, how to dress, things like that.” Both the birds chirped together. “My uncles don’t count.”

“Hoo!” Junius drew attention to the oncoming deer rushing over to them.

“Bambi?” Rose knelt to the deer’s level. “Everything okay?” With what looked to be a gesture to follow, Bambi raced off in the direction that he came from. “What do you suppose got into him?” Goldie and Tawny both tweeted in sync. “Right! Let’s go and find out.”

…

A man sat near the edge of a stream while his horse sipped from the water. He had taken off his boots and dipped his toes into the stream, lightly kicking his feet in the water as he stared into the distance. “Is it wrong to say…” he considered how to phrase the next part, “...would it be so bad if I didn’t go back to Richard’s castle?” His horse raised its head and stared at him. “It’s nothing against Richard or Jane; I love them as if they were my family. But when I go back to their castle, they’re literally going to become my family.” The man sighed. “Father is so excited for me to marry their daughter that even they don’t know. I think he’s just excited for me to be married in general. It’s just…I’m not in support of arranged marriages. Not just for me, but for anyone. You should be with the one you love, and it’s as simple as that. What if I don’t even like Richard and Jane’s daughter? How can I force her into a loveless marriage? I couldn’t. Even Richard and Jane got to know each other and build their relationship. I don’t even know my future wife’s name. I can’t say anything to Father though. He’d scoff at my ‘silly, romantic notions’ like he always does.” A pause. “He seems to scoff at everything I do. Sometimes I think I fail at being a person, particularly in my father’s eyes.” The horse whinnied. “But I do care what he thinks. I care what everyone thinks. I want to please everyone, but it’s an impossible task. Mother said the only person I should worry about pleasing is myself. Only…only I don’t know what I truly want out of life. What do you think?” The horse nickered in reply. “Well, that’s because you’re a horse.” A small neigh. “Okay, fair, I did ask.” His horse resumed drinking from the stream. The man gave another sigh, shrugged this off, and began to hum.

…

When Bambi stopped, he titled his head as if he was guiding her where to go next. “You want us to go toward the stream?” With that, Bambi sped off. “Alright,” she turned to her other animal friends, “let’s go see what’s there.” Rose led the way. Making her way toward the stream, she came across Bambi’s discovery. A white horse with a black mane was drinking from the stream while someone else, a man, was sitting dipping his toes in the water. She heard some kind of noise coming from him. Quietly approaching, she discovered the man was humming.

 _The man_! “You’re a man!” In a fright, the man let out a panicked scream before falling into the water. “I’m sorry!” When he came up for air, Rose extended a hand and helped him out of the stream.

“What in the world were you---” when the man finally looked at her, he stopped and stared.

“Hello?” she waved her hand in his face and snapped her fingers.

That seemed to bring him back into reality. “Er, sorry, I...I’m wet,” this made Rose giggle, which subsequently made him chuckle. “I’m not really sure how to respond to what you said. I mean, last I checked I was a man.” He noticed she was holding her hands back in a sort of reluctance. “What is that? What are you doing with your hands?”

“Are you real?”

“Am I _real_?”

“Can I…can I touch you?”

“Um…okay.”

Rose came closer and ran her hands across the man. “You are real.”

“I would assume so.”

“Sorry; I’ve never seen another person before.”

“Come again?”

“You’re the first real person I’ve ever met.”

“How do you mean?”

“I live here in the woods with my three uncles. All this time, I’ve never once seen another human.”

“Really?” She nodded. “Never?” She shook her head. “Surely you must have left the forest at least once to---” she shook her head. “How curious.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I got lost on my way to King Richard’s castle.”

“You mean that castle on the hill above the village?”

“I…guess. How do you know about---”

“Because I’ve seen it,” she took his hand and started leading him away (the rest of the animals maintaining distance behind them). “I have a quiet spot I like to go to; you can see the entire kingdom from there.” She brought him to her “spot” and gestured for him to look forward.

“I’ll be.” He looked at the sight in front of him.

“It’s a beautiful sight isn’t it?”

The man turned his head and looked to see Rose with a dreamy look on her face gazing toward the castle. His expression softened into as he gazed at her with an equally dreamy look of his own. “Yeah,” he said with a smile.

When she turned in his direction, he instantly blushed and looked away. For some reason, this made Rose giggle.

Wait, was she blushing too?

“I’d…” she cleared her throat and diverted topics, “I’d like to visit the castle someday. I’m sure it’s lovely. In all honesty, I’d love to visit any place; but just once I’d like to say that I’ve been inside a genuine castle.”

“You know,” the man began, “I can’t help but feel like I’ve met you before. Something about you just seems so familiar.”

“I don’t see how. You’re the first person I’ve ever come in contact with besides my uncles. And if we met, wouldn’t we know each other’s names?”

“Right, yes, good point.”

“Mine’s Rose.”

“Oh, right, my name!” he got the hint. “I’m…Gus.”

“Did you forget your name, Gus?”

Gus didn’t want to go into detail. “I s’pose I did,” he lied. “When one is in the presence of someone so beautiful, they’re bound to forget something.”

“Do you really think I’m beautiful?”

“Oh no, I spoke aloud again! I was only thinking you’re so beautiful and I didn’t mean to say it, and I---”

“Gus, really, it’s fine.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “I think you’re beautiful too.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think you mean ‘ _handsome_ ’. People don’t really use the word ‘ _beautiful_ ’ when describing a man.”

“Oh. Then you’re _handsome_.”

“Thank you.” He seemed to realize what she said. “Do you really think so?”

“You’re more visually appealing than my uncles. When something is visually appealing isn’t it beautiful? Or ‘handsome’ in your case.”

“Okay, that’s fair.”

“You see a lot of people; are they beautiful or handsome?”

“I see so many I never really give them consideration. It makes a difference when you spend one on one time with a person. Though most people I spend alone time with are not at all visually appealing.”

“Do those people include your mother and father?”

“Yeah, but children aren’t supposed to find their parents beautiful or handsome. It’s too weird.”

“Oh.”

“You mention your uncles; what about your parents?” He noticed her pause. “Rose?”

“I don’t have parents.”

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“My uncles promised me that when I was older they would tell me everything about them that I needed to know. I’m old enough now; they’re going to tell me today after we celebrate.”

“Celebrate?”

“It’s my birthday.”

“Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you having a good birthday so far?”

“I’d say so. My uncles are letting me out into the woods for the first time by myself, I got to go berry picking with my friends,” she made a gesture to the animals near her, “and I met you. Plus, later I get to go the village!”

“In King Richard’s kingdom?”

“Yes! I’m so excited! I’ll get to interact with people.” She gasped with delight. “You’re my practice person!”

“Your what?”

“You can tell me how to be in front of other people; how to walk, how to talk, how to dress, all that stuff.”

“I’m sorry, Rose, but I’m not really all that great with people. I like people, don’t misunderstand, but I feel my people skills are lacking.”

“They seem alright to me.”

“Really?”

“To be fair: I don’t really have much to go on when it comes to interacting with people though.”

“Right, because of the whole never leaving the woods and meeting another person thing.” He contemplated what to say. “Sorry to say, but I think you’d have to figure out all that as you go along.”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” She paused. “Well, there is something I’ve always wanted to properly learn whenever I’m around people.”

“What?”

“How to dance.”

“Dance?”

“I’ve read about dancing in books; how whenever there’s a large gathering or fancy party, there’s dancing.”

“I suppose that’s true in reality as well.”

“I have danced though! Whenever Uncle Larry gets out his fiddle and we have our own little party we’ll have dancing.” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “My uncles aren’t very good. I can’t tell you how many things have been destroyed as a result of their dancing.” This made Gus laugh. “What about you? Have you ever danced?”

“Yes, but I don’t much care for it. My mother hired dancing instructors to teach me how to properly dance, but I’ve never danced with anyone besides my tutor.”

“Oh,” a pause. “Maybe you could dance with me?” that came out more like a question. Gus turned at her and stared into her eyes for a moment. She was so innocent, so sincere, so…beautiful.

“Rose, I…” he was at a loss for words, “I…I really don’t think I can.”

“Oh,” he detected the hurt on her face for a brief moment before she composed herself, “that’s alright. I’m sure I’ll learn someday.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

“I just really wanted my first real dance to be with the first real man I met. With you.” They said nothing for a moment before moved to Gus stand across from her and extend a hand. Rose looked at him in confusion, yet anticipation. “I don’t know what---”

“It’s customary for a gentleman to offer the lady a hand when they dance.”

“Oh,” she graciously accepted.

“So there’s a particular holding position for the Waltz,” he guided her into the proper form. “And we have to count the steps. One, two, three; one, two, three.”

“Do we ever go to four?”

“I don’t get the counting thing either. One, two three; one, two, three.”

“One, two, three,” soon she was joining him in the counting.

“This would be so much easier with music,” Gus noted.

“Do you need music to dance?” Rose genuinely questioned.

“You would look strange dancing without music, that’s for certain.”

“We’re dancing without music and I don’t feel strange.”

“That’s because I’m teaching you. You can go without music to learn forms and steps and other technical aspects.”

“What about what you were humming before I made you fall into the stream? That was music?”

“I suppose. It’s just a random little melody I heard somewhere and---”

“Melody? What’s a melody?”

“A melody is music. It’s another name for the music of a song. The lyrics are the words, the melody is the music.”

“Melody: I like that word. I’ve heard it called tune before. On celebratory occasions Uncle Moe would say to Uncle Larry, ‘you mangy floor mop; why don’t you go and make yourself useful and play us a tune on that there fiddle’,” Gus couldn’t help but laugh at her imitation. “So I knew it could be called a tune but not a melody.” Rose mouthed her newest vocabulary word. “Can a word be beautiful?”

“It can if you want it to. There are some people who find names beautiful, particularly to help them choose one to name their child.”

“Sorry Gus: but I don’t think your name’s beautiful, or handsome.”

He laughed. “No, it truly isn’t. It certainly suits me better than my given name.”

“Given name?”

“I’ll explain that later.”

“My uncles don’t have attractive names either.”

“Most beautiful names are for ladies anyway.”

“Like what?”

“Like Rose,” another lingering moment of staring into each other’s eyes. “The most beautiful of flowers is also the most beautiful of names.”

“Roses are beautiful, especially the pink ones.”

“Pink roses; I’ll remember that.” Nothing more was said as they continued to Waltz in the woods.

“Gus.”

“Rose.”

“How long does dancing usually last? I feel like we’ve been Waltzing for hours.”

“How can we have been dancing for hours when time has stopped?”

“Has it really?”

“The fairy tales have always said that time stops when you meet the one you love.”

“But we’re not in a fairy tale.”

“We can be. This can be our once upon a time that will lead to the---”

“---happily ever after,” she finished for him.

“Have I once stepped on your toes?”

Not expecting him to say that following some of the most romantic things she had ever heard, Rose couldn’t help but giggle. “No.”

“Odd; I’m never this graceful.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“I have. I’m not like this. I’m not graceful, I’m awkward, I’m uncomfortable around women, and yet…here I am. I feel so contented around you and I haven’t once stepped on your toes. I don’t know why, but when I’m with you…” he didn’t know how to finish that.

“What?”

“I just…I feel like maybe nothing is impossible. I can be so much better than who I truly am when I’m with you, and we’ve only just met. Is that even possible?”

“You just said you felt like nothing is impossible.”

“Do you feel like that too? But about me.”

“I…” she stopped dancing.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I have to go.”

“What?”

“It was nice to meet you; thank you for the dance. I really must be going,” she started to hurry off.

Gus gave chase. “When can I see you again?”

“Never.”

“ _Never_?” He was once again at a loss of words. “I basically confess that I love you, and now I can never see you again?”

“Why did you ask me that?”

“What?”

“Why did you ask me if I feel the way I felt about you? We’ve only just met and already you know how you feel? I’ve never met other people; I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel around them. You described a feeling that I don’t think happens outside of a fairy tale or storybook.”

“I didn’t believe in love at first sight and thought it all nonsense. Then I see you, and I talk to you, and I just know that you’re someone I want in my life forever. First as a friend, but hopefully, something more; and if I have to, I will wait for you.”

“You will?”

“The best things in life are worth waiting for.”

Rose bit her lip. “Gus, I really, truly have to go.”

“Can I see you again?” Rose noticed the desperate, yet sincere look on his face. “Please.”

“There’s a cottage in a glen. I’ll more than likely go back there after our trip into the kingdom. Meet me there tonight and I’ll introduce you to my uncles,” she gave him a coy sort of smile. “A gentleman would need permission from the lady’s guardian before he properly courts her.”

Gus smiled back at her. “How do you know?”

“I read it in a fairy tale.”

He slowly approached her. “Until we meet again,” before he left for his horse, he reached for her hand and kissed it.

Rose brought that hand close to her heart and watched as he went off. “Until tonight.”


	9. Magic for a Princess

“Say Moe,” Larry stood back as his “cake” began to melt, “I don’t think cake is s’posed to fall like that.”

Moe craned his neck to view Larry’s mess of a dessert. “How did you even…” he tried to keep composure. “It’s fine, just get out the ingredients and try again.”

“Ye-ah,” Larry nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “I kinda used all the ingredients the first time.”

“You lamebrain! How could you---”

“You’re the one who cooks. You shoulda did this!”

“I wanted to make the dress.” He gestured to his… _creation_. “And I did.”

“Um…it’s a little big.”

He pointed to a surly looking Curly Joe standing on the stool modeling Moe’s “dress”. “That’s cause I used a dummy for the dummy.” He noticed the looks he was getting. “Who am I kidding? Even a blind person can see this is a mess. I don’t think the little amount of fabric I have left can salvage this.”

“What are we gonna do? We can’t have Rose come back to all this.”

“Well,” Curly Joe struggled to get off the stool in Moe’s “dress”, “there is one way to get ourselves out of this predicament.”

“Oh,” Moe was about to give an insulting quip, “he chooses to use his smarts to say big words,”

“But there is a way! If we just get out our wands and---”

“Oh no! We said we wouldn’t until Rose turns eighteen.”

“But Moe, today is her eighteenth birthday,” Larry reminded.

“We also said we’d never tell her the truth about us until after we tell her everything else.”

“Rose isn’t back yet,” Curly Joe pointed out. “If we use our magic to fix everything, we can get it done in no time and she won’t be any the wiser. There really is no reason why we shouldn’t.”

“No reason? So the evil fairy who came up with the curse that led us to hiding Rose here all these years _isn’t_ a good enough reason as to why we shouldn’t use our magic?”

“Endora hasn’t found us yet, has she?” Larry countered. “We’ll lock the door and block up the windows to be extra, extra safe.”

Moe sighed. “Alright, but we're only doing this for Rose.”

“YAHOO!” Curly Joe cheered. “I’ll go get the wands.”

“I’ll close all the curtains,” Larry announced before doing his task.

Moe went over to the door and locked it. “And don’t think because your ideas were better than mine that it’ll happen again.” He punctuated that statement by roughly closing the curtain to the window next to the door.

Curly Joe concealed the wands down his shirt as he went downstairs. “Here they are,” he presented his pals with their wands, “and they’re just as good as new.”

“Still shiny too,” Larry commented.

“Whaddya gonna stand around and stare at shiny things?” Moe was about to take charge. “Now I’m gonna finish the dress. Larry, you make the cake. And you…” he faltered when deciding what Curly Joe should do. “…you can stare at your shiny thing.”

“Maybe he should clean up so Rose don’t notice all the crumbs and fabric on the floor.”

“What did I say about havin’ good ideas? Now you get to bakin’.” Moe directed his attention to Curly Joe. “And you get to cleanin’.”

“Clean the place up,” Curly Joe put his wand to his chin in thought. “How can I do that with magic?” He noticed the cleaning equipment in the corner. “Say!” He waved his wand at said equipment. “Come on Bucket, Mop, Broom; Moe says we gotta clean the room.”

Larry zapped a series of baking ingredients out of thin air. “So we gotta make it look like this,” he showed the lifeless objects the picture. “Do everything like it says in the book, and I’ll put on the candles.” Suddenly the objects took on a life of their own and started preparing the cake.

Moe had taken notice of how the others were proceeding with their chores and summoned the sewing materials to life. “It’s gotta be made to fit her exactly. It’s not every day a princess turns eighteen. But we can’t make this too red,” Moe turned the fabric from red to pink.

“Pink!” Curly Joe objected. “Why do all her best clothes always have to be red or pink?”

“Since I don’t do the sewin’, I do the choosin’.”

“You’re doing the sewin’ now!”

Moe shook his wand as if to accentuate a point. “Am I really if the magic’s doin’ all the work?”

“Yes! It’s your magic!”

“Well the magic’s doin’ the actual sewin’, not me. Therefore, I’m choosing for her dress to be pink.”

“How about we make it blue?” he waved his wand at the dress and the color changed from pink to blue.

“Why you---” now was not the time to lose one’s temper. Moe returned the pink coloring. “It’s stayin’ pink!”

“It’ll look better blue,” and back to blue.

“Pink!” back to pink.

Curly Joe walked around pretending like he wasn’t going to change it. He came up with the idea to ricochet his magic from a nearby pot and onto the dress. “Blue.”

But Moe had noticed. He stepped in front of his dress to protect it, and his outfit instantly changed from red to blue. True, it wasn’t exactly the result Curly Joe was hoping for, but it was an enjoyable one. “We’ll see about that,” Moe aimed his wand at Curly Joe and turned his blue attire into not red, but pink.

“HEY!”

And the war of the wands began: Moe vs. Curly Joe. Larry, trying to focus on his cake, just rolled his eyes at their antics. “If the dress wasn’t gonna be so pretty, then it should just be green.” He scoffed. “When will a green dress ever look pretty?”

…

An ominous looking raven flew in the skies, scouring the kingdom for any sort of sign. He seemed to have gotten it when he noticed lights flashing in the middle of the forest. Pink, blue, pink, blue, it seemed to repeat. Finding this odd, the raven flew to the source of the flashes. It was a cottage in the middle of a forest. That seemed normal. Streams of pink and blue light flashing from out of the chimney? Not so much.

But the raven quickly forgot about that when he saw a lovestruck looking young woman making her way toward the cottage all the while humming to herself. A young woman who bore a very close resemblance to Queen Jane.

…

Moe and Curly Joe shot their streams at the same time. This resulted in one side of the dress splattered in pink, and the other splattered in blue. “Now look what you did!” they both accused each other simultaneously.

No sooner had they started to argue, did Larry shush them. “You guys hear that?”

“It’s Rose!” the three of them quickly discovered.

Moe took charge. “Hurry up, we gotta hide.” The three of them quickly finished their tasks. Before hiding, Moe pointed at the dress. “Make it pink. Come on, You,” he grabbed Larry by the arm and pulled him away just as Larry finished lighting the candles on the cake.

As Curly Joe stowed away the cleaning equipment, he noticed the pink dress resting on the chair next to the table with the cake. “Blue,” he did this quickly and quietly hoping no one would notice.

“Now ssh,” Moe ordered as he used his wand to unlock the door and pull back all the curtains. The three of the simultaneously tucked their wands into their shirts as they heard Rose approach the cottage.

“Uncles Moe, Larry, Curly Joe,” she called for them as she opened the door. No answer. "Hello? Where are—oh!” the sight of the birthday cake next to a blue dress took her by surprise.

“Surprise!” her uncles all cheered in sync as they came out of hiding.

“Happy Birthday, Rose,” Larry wished.

“So this is why you wanted me out of the way?” she jested as she admired their work. “However did you manage this?”

“Never mind all that,” Moe deterred. “Do you like it?”

“Oh, I do; very much.” She scooped some frosting onto her finger and licked it. “Mhm,” she made a noise of satisfaction, “this is delicious, Uncle Moe.”

“It was actually Uncle Larry,” Larry informed her.

“I didn’t know you cooked.”

“We wanted to do somethin’ extra special for you today.”

“Yes, well today is an extra special day.” She admired the dress. “Do I get to wear this when we go to the kingdom?”

“Of course,” Moe told her without actually noticing the dress. “We’ve all gotta look our best.”

Rose shrugged this off. “I just knew today was going to change everything. All this, I get to go into the kingdom, and I…” Rose bit her lip.

“And you…”

“I…I made a new friend today. His name is Gus.”

“Is that all?” Curly Joe questioned. “You make friends with the forest animals all the time.”

Moe seemed to catch on. “Unless this ‘Gus’ isn’t a forest animal.”

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” Rose began. “I met a man in the forest, a real man. His name is Gus and he’s sweet, and handsome, and oh, when we danced,” she began twirling around the room humming the melody she had danced to. In her daze, she took Larry by his hands and started leading him in a Waltz. “One, two, three; one, two three.”

“Uh-oh,” Larry knew what was going on, “I think she’s in love.”

“I think he’s right,” Curly Joe agreed.

“Oh, this isn’t good,” Moe lamented.

Rose heard what Moe said, and stopped Waltzing. “Why not? I’m old enough now to fall in love, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but…” Moe sighed, “Rose: we need to have a talk.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, I…we just don’t know how to tell you. We were waiting until your eighteenth birthday to tell you something very important.”

“Important? Important how?”

Moe couldn’t find the words, so Curly Joe tried. “Rose, you can’t marry this Gus person, because you’re already betrothed to someone else.”

“Be what?”

“It means you’re engaged to be married,” Larry explained.

“It’s been arranged practically since you were born,” Curly Joe added.

“This engagement has?” Rose asked for clarification.

Moe nodded before continuing. “Your father and mother arranged it.”

“I’m afraid I still don’t understand.”

“Rose, Sweetheart, the reason we’re bringing you to the kingdom is so that you can be reunited with your parents.”

“My parents? They’re alive?”

“They’re the king and queen,” Larry was compelled to add.

“They are?”

“Which makes you a real princess!” Curly Joe enthusiastically stated the now obvious.

“I’m a princess? But…if I’m a princess, why am I here? Surely my parents would be able to take care of me. Did they even love me?”

“Of course they did!” Larry defended.

“It about broke your mother’s heart to give you up,” Curly Joe recalled.

“You were the one thing they had always wanted more than anything,” Moe told her. “But…but something happened and we needed to hide you so that---”

“Then who are you supposed to be?” Rose cut him off. “How do you three fit into this?”

‘We’re your fairy godfathers.”

“Fairy godfathers?”

“The fairy queen chose us to be your Royal Fairy Godparents. We asked your parents to let us hide you so that---”

“That’s how you got the dress and the cake. Magic!”

“Yes, but---”

“Why are you telling me all of this _now_?”

“We had to wait until your eighteenth birthday. We were going to tell you while we celebrated and then take you to meet your parents.”

“And then I would never come back here again?”

“Well…we don’t know. You’ll be staying at the castle with your family and future husband and we’ll more than likely go back to the fairy kingdom and---”

“But I have to come back tonight! I told Gus he could come and---”

“We’re sorry, Rose. Unless it’s purely by chance like it was this time, I don’t think you’re ever gonna see Gus again.”

“No!”

“Rose---”

“Stay away from me!” she began backing toward the stairs. “All of you; just stay back!”

“You have every right to be upset, but---” without saying another word, Rose ran up to her room and the slammed the door. From behind the door, they could hear her throw herself onto her bed and break down sobbing.

“What do we do now?” Larry asked Moe.

“What can we do?” Moe blew out a breath. “She just needs some time alone.”

“This wasn’t the reaction we were hoping for, was it?” Curly Joe inquired. Moe shook his head. “Here I thought she’d be excited to learn she had a mom and dad and that she was a princess.”

“Yes, but we didn’t count on that Gus boy to show up.”

“You think we should at least find him and tell him about her?” Larry suggested.

“When we bring her back where she belongs, he’ll find out soon enough. Come on, let’s finish getting ready.”

The three guardians went off to finish a few more tasks unaware of the raven perched outside the window next to the door. The raven that had heard everything and flew off to tell its mistress.


	10. In the Interest of the Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was debating whether or not to post this. After realizing I had completed 10 chapters and still have the desire to go and finish this story, I figured I might as well upload it. What else was I going to do with it anyway?

In the royal bedchamber, clothes were being strewn across the room as the wardrobe was being raided. “Absolutely nothing to wear.”

“Honestly, Richard,” Jane scoffed in good-nature, “it’s not going to matter what you wear.”

Richard poked his head out of the wardrobe and quirked a brow to her. “This coming from you?”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing, you look beautiful; but how did you know _that_ was the outfit you wanted to wear?”

“Richard, this is the dress I wore the day…” Jane couldn’t bring herself to finish that, “…it holds significance. If it didn’t fit I---”

“---would have had it altered.”

“I was going to say I would’ve worn the green and yellow one. Neutral and warm colors, of course.”

“Of course.”

“You usually never make a fuss over what to wear. Why should it matter today?”

“It’s not every day a man is reunited with his long-lost daughter; I just want to make a good first impression.”

“And what if she’s not wearing anything special? She’s lived a humble life. She may be dressed in humble clothes. Then she’s presented to you and you’re dressed in something so flamboyantly ostentatious. How do you think that would look?”

“Then what do you suggest, Dearest?”

Jane instantly found an outfit in the massive pile of discarded clothes. “This one, _Darling_.” She made her way over to him. “No matter what you wear, I know you’ll look proud. Just as you did the day she was born.”

“Jane, what if she doesn’t like us?”

"She will."

"You seem so certain."

"It may not happen right away, but it will happen."

"You truly believe that?"

Jane nodded. “Obviously, Rose will need some time to come to terms with all of this. We must be patient, supportive, and let her come to us.” She sighed. “I desperately want to hold her in my arms again, but it will be worth the wait whenever she’s ready to accept my embrace.”

“And what about Gus?”

“What about him?”

“Do you think Rose knows that she’s going to be married to him?”

“Richard, that arrangement was not set in stone.”

“But it was announced the public.”

“It’s been years, the public will understand if things change. Rose does not have to marry him if she doesn’t want to. Everything will be _her_ choice.”

“Yes, but I know Gus. He’s grown up with us and we trust the boy. I don’t know if I’d be alright if some other strange man came in to court our daughter.”

“Why is it that you keep seeing Gus as boy? He’s twenty years old; he’s a man.”

“Leopold and I were talking about him this morning. He pointed out some things that actually do agree with. Gus is shy, and quiet, and he’s gotten out of things by luck. It’s as if his own father doesn't see him as a man yet."

“Is that what _you_ think?”

“Despite those true faults, I do love Gus. Whether he's a boy or a man, he’s like a son; and I was very much hoping he would become my son through marriage.”

“Leopold’s been talking grandchildren again, hasn’t he?”

“It would be nice. We missed out on our own daughter growing up; we wouldn’t have to with a grandchild. Plus if something is wrong we can pawn them off on their parents.” Jane chuckled at this. “I know, I shouldn’t rush for grandchildren right away. I do want to catch up on everything with my own daughter first.”

“As do I.”

Richard took Jane’s hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, their silent revelry interrupted by fanfare. “What do you---” Richard looked out into the castle courtyard to see a white horse with a black mane come speeding into view. "It seems as though Gus found his way here after all."

…

“Augustus!” King Leopold was waiting at the castle entrance as the prince came riding in. He struggled to catch up to where his son stopped.

“Father!” Gus bounded off his horse. “Father, I---”

“We must hurry,” Leopold began leading Gus toward the castle, “we must get you ready for tonight.”

“But Father---”

“You're wet! Get dried; you can’t meet your future bride looking like that.”

“But I have met her father.” Without warning, Gus began leading his father in a very clumsy Waltz as he sang a familiar melody.

“Watch the feet boy!” Leopold warned after the prince stepped on his foot. “You have to help me understand. How did you meet her? Where did you meet her? What did she--” He quickly shook this off. “---never mind. Just don’t tell Richard and Jane you met their daughter before them. Now you--”

“Who said anything about Richard and Jane’s daughter?”

“Wha---you did!”

“No, _you_ did. I just agreed with you when I said I met my future bride.” Leopold furrowed his brow as his son continued. “I don’t know who she was. She was some girl I met in the forest.”

“Some girl?” Leopold burst into laughter. “Your sense of humor has improved, Augustus.”

Gus, meanwhile, was serious. “I’m not joking, Father.”

“Of course you are.” After Gus shook his head, his flustered father looked toward his son’s steed. “He’s joking, right?” The horse emitted a response as it shook its head. Leopold struggled to form coherent words. “You…you can’t do this to me!”

“To _you_?”

“Give up your throne and your kingdom for some…some…some _nobody_?”

“She’s not a nobody father. Not to me anyway. To me, she’s---”

“---you’re a prince!”

“Father, please, remember your blood pressure.”

“You are a prince and you are going to marry a princess! Listen to me, Augustus---”

“No, you listen,” Leopold (and even Gus himself) was surprised at this “take-charge” kind of attitude coming from the prince, “I’ve met someone father. Someone who makes me feel a kind of joy I’ve never felt before. Like I can be happy. Don’t you want that for me? To be happy.”

“Of course, I do; but you’re still the prince.”

“Who I am shouldn’t matter! I love her. I love Rose so much that I’m willing to give everything up if I can’t be with her.”

“Rose,” Leopold scoffed at the name, “such an undignified name for a lady.”

Gus was visibly resisting the urge to hit his father. “If that’s the way you want this to be fine. I only came back here to send Richard and Jane my regards; but if their reaction is going to be any way like yours, then I’ll have you give them my regards for me.” Gus headed for his horse.

“I must admit I’m proud of you for showing initiative like this. I was having doubts that you were ready to take over.”

“I never really wanted to be a king, Father. It was something I never chose,” he mounted his horse. “From now on, I’m going to choose what I want to do with my life and who I want in it.”

“You seem to be forgetting that you are not the king. _I_ am still the king. And as the king I command you to come to your senses and---”

“---and marry the girl I love,” with that, Gus started to ride off.

“Exactly!”

“Goodbye, Father.”

“Goodbye, Son.” It suddenly dawned on Leopold what had happened. “No! No, Augustus, come back!” Too late, Gus had ridden off toward the forest. Once again, Leopold struggled to find the words as he slumped on the steps of the castle. Not being able to properly articulate, he simply sighed. “How am I going to tell Richard?”


	11. A Curse Fulfilled

Curly Joe led the way as three other figures followed him. All of them wear wearing different colored cloaks (blue, green, purple, and red). The third figure kept their head bowed and didn’t look up. Once he made it to the back castle wall, Curly Joe felt for some kind of opening. “Ah-ha!” When he discovered it, he opened a hidden door in the wall. The other godfathers gave him an incredulous look. “Queen Jane taught me this the last time I came to the village.”

Larry, the second in line, was vocal about his surprise. “You kept in touch with the queen?”

“Sure, with the king too.” Curly Joe said this like it was no big deal. “How do you think I get everything from the village for free? They’ve been helping me all this time and I’ve been tellin’ them little things about Rose and what she’s been up to. They told me how to sneak in through the back and where to hold Rose until her proper presentation. We just gotta find another hidden wall at the back of the castle, take the secret stairs that lead to the upstairs hallway, and Jane marked a door for us that she kept unlocked where we can keep Rose. Easy enough.”

“Stairs? Didn’t we do enough walking from the forest to here? Can’t we fly up there?”

“We already used our magic once today,” Moe denied. “It’s not fair for us to fly just the three of us while Rose does all the walking.” Hoping for some kind of acknowledgment, he turned to see that she remained looking downward. Awkward silence filled the void as Curly Joe did as he had privately been instructed.

When he opened the hidden door that led to the hallway, the three of them poked their heads out and looked around. “Now we just go left and there’s a door on the right.” Curly Joe led the way, Larry and Moe behind, and Rose tailing them while staring at the floor.

“Huh,” Larry was looking at the wall decorations, “these are some nice lookin’ portraits.”

“This must be the floor of the castle dedicated to the Royal Portraits,” Moe explained.

“Then how come there’s some empty spaces?”

“For the future royals of course. The last picture is of King Richard and Queen Jane and then the space will be for whoever comes after.”

“Say Rose,” Curly Joe began, “I think he means you.” He (and the others) turned around to see Rose had finally looked up.

She was gazing at the portrait of her parents. Rose was going to hold out her hand to touch, but hesitated. “The woman in this portrait,” this had been the first thing she said in a while, “there’s so much sadness in her eyes.”

“That’s your mother,” Larry stated the obvious, but no one judged him for that.

“I know, I…I look like her.” Rose shifted her eyes slightly and looked at the man next to the woman. "And that man is my father?” Her guardians nodded. “There’s sadness in him too.”

“I think it was supposed to be a portrait for royal families,” Moe explained. “If they look sad, it’s because their family isn’t there with them.”

“They really did love me?”

“With all their hearts.”

“And yet they abandon me in the woods with the three of you.”

The men could detect the hurt in her voice, but she had every right to be upset. “They never abandoned you, Rose; they just wanted to keep you safe.”

“Safe from what?”

“Hey fellas,” Curly Joe cut in before Moe could answer, “back when I was leading us out of the secret passage, I meant we were supposed to go right and the door would be on the left.”

“Why, you---” Moe took a few deep breaths so that he wouldn’t lose his temper. “I think this time I’ll lead the way. I am the leader after all.”

“No, you’re not,” Larry muttered under his breath.

“Says you. Now follow me.”

Larry went over to Curly Joe. “Hey, how come you didn’t say the thing with me?”

“He was already mad at me,” Curly Joe reasoned. “I didn’t want him double mad.”

“While we’re young!” Moe called to them in frustration.

Curly Joe and Larry exchanged looks at each other before Curly Joe headed off. Larry was about to go, but noticed Rose had lingered behind looking at the picture. “Hey Rose,” he gently took her wrist, but she pulled away. “Come on, we gotta go the other way.” He waited for her to go ahead before following her down the hall.

“And we’re here,” Moe announced after finding the marked door. Before they could enter, Moe poked his head in and did a sweep of the room. “Coast is clear,” they all went into the room.

“Whatta we do now?”

“Now we wait.”

“Hey, there’s something on the table,” Curly Joe went over the vanity in the corner where a tiara was resting next to a small, pink rose that had looked like it had seen better days.

A note was set under the crown. Moe picked it up and read it. “ _To our darling, Rose: For our gift to you on your eighteenth birthday, we pass along the tiara the queens wore when they turned eighteen in hopes that you wear it for your royal presentation. The rose alongside of it was the very first gift you were even given. It was given to you by your betrothed and we thought you might like it. Happy Birthday, Rose; we cannot wait to hold you in arms again. Love, your parents.”_ Moe looked behind him, “Hey Rosie, come here and see this.” Rose slowly made her way over to the vanity and sat at the chair placed in front of it. “Ain’t it pretty; they even polished it up real nice for ya.” Moe picked up the tiara and placed it atop her head. “Well would ya look at that? Now our girl looks like the princess she truly is.”

It was almost as if Rose didn’t recognize the person that was in front of her. Overwhelmed by everything, she broke down and sobbed.

“Rose---” as Curly Joe went to comfort her, Moe held her back.

“Let’s give her a couple minutes to herself,” Moe slowly led them out of the room and closed the door behind him.

“Why’d she do that?” Larry inquired.

“I think this day is too much for her to handle.”

“It’s probably that boy she met,” Curly Joe also suggested, “that Gus.”

“The one you told her she could never see again,” Larry pointed out to Moe.

Moe scowled at him. “What’re ya makin’ me out to be the bad guy for? We can’t go against what her parents planned for her all those years ago. Plus, Prince What’s-His-Name is prob’ly lookin’ forward to meetin’ his future bride.”

“Prince What’s-His-Name. Didn’t he have some fancy soundin’ name or somethin’?”

“Wouldn’t we remember it if it wasn’t a fancy soundin’ name?” Curly Joe countered. Larry gave a noise to indicate that he conceded the point. “I sure hope Rose gets to like him eventually. He seemed like a nice boy that one time we saw him; kinda shy.”

“It’s not like she won’t ever see that Gus again,” Moe spoke up. “If he loves her as much as she loves him, he’ll look for her. Then he’ll find out she’s the princess and have no choice but to back away.”

“Unless he sweeps her off her feet enough to take her away from everything and ride off on a white horse into an uncertain, yet happy future.” Moe and Larry shot him some strange looks, but Curly Joe literally shrugged it off. “I just love love is all.”

…

When she knew everything was clear, Rose lifted her head and wiped away her tears. She prepared to take the tiara off when she noticed a floating light in the mirror behind her. “What in the---”

_Rose_

“How do you---” she shook her head. “I must be out of it to think that floating ball of light is calling my name.” The light seemed to flash at her. “Then again, I am looking at floating ball of light.” The light flew to the wall in the room’s fireplace. Much to Rose’s amazement, the light seemed to erase the back wall of the fireplace and create an entrance to a set of stairs. “Alright, which one of you is doing this?” She automatically assumed her uncles were behind this. The light started to float toward the stairs. “Fine,” she took off her cloak and set it at the chair next to the fireplace, “what do you want to show me?”

…

As Moe and Curly Joe were having a “friendly debate” over the Rose’s mystery man, Larry thought it would be best to check on Rose. When he went to open the door, he could have sworn he heard her talking. Resisting the urge to use the eavesdropping spell, Larry put his ear to the door. “Hey fellas, I think Rose is talkin’ to someone.”

“What?” Moe went to the door and pushed Larry away so that he could listen. “Doesn’t sound like anyone’s talking back.” He opened the door slightly just in time to see Rose walk through a hole in the fireplace that clearly wasn’t there before. “Rose!” The three men hurried into the room and toward the fireplace, but the wall then sealed itself before they could go through it, causing the men to bump into each other.

“Ow,” Larry rubbed the center of his head. “Say, what’s the big idea?”

“You think I’m doing this?”

“Uh-oh,” Curly Joe something dawned on Curly Joe, “what if it’s Endora that’s doing this?”

Moe took charge. “Quick! We gotta bust this wall!” they pulled out their wands, but nothing seemed to be working. “Why won’t it do anything’?”

“Maybe Endora’s got some spell to stop anyone from goin’ through,” Larry deduced.

“Damn!” Moe started to pace. “Wait a sec: I swear I saw Rose going up some stairs. Which means there’s another secret set of stairs somewhere around here, and we’re gonna have to open another wall to find it! Come on!”

“We’re comin’ Rose,” Curly Joe called to the fireplace. “Don’t touch anything!”

…

Rose seemed to be in some sort of daze as she continued to make her way up the stairs. This light, wherever it came from, seemed to know where it was going. Eventually, it led her to a room at the top of the stairs. When she entered the room, the light materialized into a spinning wheel.

“What?” Rose looked around the room before approaching the unfamiliar object. “What is this?”

“It’s the enchanted spinning wheel,” a voice startled Rose. When she turned, she saw the source of the voice was a dark haired woman donned in black and silver and holding a scepter.

“Who are you?”

“I am the guardian of this enchanted object.”

“Does that mean you’re magic?”

The woman nodded. “I have to be if I am to guard it.”

“Why are you here?”

“The magic was alerting me that someone was approaching the spinning wheel.”

“I’ve never seen a spinning wheel before.”

“A normal spinning wheel is just a device to help with sewing clothes. This spinning wheel, however, is a magical artifact; the only one of its kind.”

“What does it do?”

“This object has the power to grant one wish to whomever discovers it. What has me intrigued, is that you have found it on your own and yet you have no idea what it is.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“This spinning wheel only grants wishes to those who are pure of heart. The ones who actually seek it usually are not.”

“How does it know if the person is pure of heart?”

“My dear, it’s an _enchanted_ spinning wheel. It will know. What you’ll have to do—and mind you, some people don’t care to do this and opt out in the end—is you prick your finger on the spinning wheel’s spindle, where the needle is. When your blood mixes with the magic, that’s when it decides whether or not to grant you your wish.”

“What if I’m not pure of heart?”

“I don’t see how you can’t be. You didn’t seek it out for yourself; it appears as though the magic called to you.”

“Why me?”

“I hope you don’t think me forward to ask: were you just crying before you came here?” Rose bit her lip. “That's probably one of the reasons it was drawn to you. I bet the wish you want to make comes from your heart.” She grinned. “I’m guessing there’s a man involved?” Rose didn’t say anything. “Come on; woman to woman, you can tell me.”

“I…I met this man today,” Rose was surprised how easy it was to talk to a person the same gender as her. “His name is Gus. We talked, and we danced, and I think…I’m actually fairly certain I’m in love with him.”

“Ah, young love.”

“But then my uncles told me the truth about who I really am and that I can never see him again.”

“Oh?”

“He’ll be going to where I was, I won’t be there, and he’ll have no idea know why. What hurts the most about all this is that he told me he loved me, but I didn’t get the chance to say it back.”

“And your wish is to see him again so that you can tell him.”

“I want him to know where I am so he can come rescue me and we can run away together. Far away from fairies and royalty; someplace where it’s just us.”

“Is that really what you wish?” Rose nodded. “Then go on.” Rose held out her hand to touch, but hesitated. "It's alright. Touch the spindle."

Rose made her wish, took a breath, and touched the spindle. Not even two seconds after touching it, she collapsed onto the floor.

“Oh,” Endora was going to revel in her victory, “did I neglect to mention that if it doesn’t work, you die.” She was going to cackle until she noticed something odd about the body. “There’s still color to her.” Endora felt for a pulse. “She’s not dead! How can this be!” When she heard footsteps and voices approaching, she figured out how. “Those stooges! They’ve done something to counter my curse!”

…

Moe had taken the lead. “This is the last way Rose could’ve come.” He made sure Larry and Curly Joe had caught up to him before entering the room. “We gotta get to her before---”

“ENDORA!”

Endora was standing at the door awaiting them. “You fools! Did you _stooges_ really think you were going to stop me?” She emitted a menacing chuckle. “You haven’t won.” Endora stepped aside to reveal the nearly lifeless princess lying at the spinning wheel. The stooges gasped and ran to the princess. “Give my regards to the king and queen,” Endora taunted before disappearing in a puff of silver smoke while cackling menacingly.

“Oh no,” Moe held Rose upright in her arms. “Rose! Rose, Honey, it’s Uncle Moe. Wake up!” Rose never stirred. “We failed.” A tearful Larry and Curly Joe knelt to her level and each took a hand as Moe looked at the sleeping beauty, “We’re so sorry, Rose.”

As Curly Joe went to dry his tears on her sleeve, his eyes went wide. “Hey! Hey, I think I feel a pulse!”

Larry searched for one on the arm he was holding. “Hey, I got one too!” Moe felt for the pulse in her neck. “She’s still alive somehow!”

“It was my gift! What I said about her turning the death into sleep! Rose is still alive, she’s just sleeping!” Curly Joe’s face fell as he recalled something important. “And she’ll be sleeping for the next hundred years.”

“Hundred years?”

“Well,” Moe began, “at least that’s a start. If she’s going to sleep, she’s going to need a bed. Let’s put her somewhere where she won’t be disturbed.”

Larry and Curly Joe nodded in agreement and prepared to help Moe with the princess, the three of them oblivious to the sun setting in the window behind them.


	12. Who is Prince What's-His-Name?

The king and queen could have burst with excitement that it was impressive they somehow contained themselves as they sat in their thrones. Still, they shared stolen smiles with each other as often as they could as the setting of the sun drew nearer.

“Richard,” Leopold approached the side of Richard’s throne, “Richard, I---”

“There you are!” Richard enthusiastically interrupted, “We were wondering where you had gone off to. Where have you been.”

“Richard, I must speak with you about Augustus. He---”

“He isn’t here? I could have sworn I saw him arrive in the courtyard.”

“He _was_ here; he’s not here now.”

“Has something happened?”

“Yes, and I’m not quite sure how to…” Leopold paused. “I’m going to need a moment to collect my thoughts and practice how to phrase what I have to say.” With that, Leopold walked away.

“Richard,” Jane had noticed Leopold walk away, “is everything alright?”

“I don’t know,” Richard answered in reply. “He wanted to talk about Gus and probably explain why he isn’t here.”

“Gus isn’t here? Didn’t he arrive earlier?”

“Yes, but evidently something has happened between Gus’ arrival and now.”

“What do you suppose it was?”

“It must have been something that called him away or else he would be here next to us. And yet, even Leopold isn’t sure how to say what happened.”

“Oh dear, it must be serious.”

“But what could be serious enough for---” a fanfare began to sound.

“The sun has set,” a herald announced as Richard reached for Jane’s hand, “make ready to welcome your princess!”

…

Alas, the princess would not be making her grand appearance. Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe had moved her to one of the castle’s abandoned towers and given her a proper bed to lie on. They had tucked her into the finest of sheets and placed the little pink rose in her hand as they made her as comfortable as they could. They didn’t want to take their eyes off of their ward, but the sound of fireworks and cheering in the background drew them to the tower balcony.

“They’re all so happy,” Larry broke the silence. “How we gonna tell the king and queen?”

“If only there was a way we didn’t hafta,” Curly Joe wished.

Moe contemplated something. “Maybe there is.”

Larry turned to the designated leader. “Whaddya you suggest?”

“I just…no.”

“What?”

“I was thinkin’ ‘bout how maybe the whole kingdom should be sleeping with Rose. So that when she wakes up, it’s like nothing happened.”

“But things _will_ have happened. Rose is gonna sleep for a whole hundred years. Everyone's gonna wake up and see that everything has changed.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Hey!” Curly Joe had a different thought. “What if we break the spell _before_ a hundred years?”

“How?” Larry questioned.

“It’s like I said eighteen years ago: true love’s kiss can break any spell. We just gotta go and find the boy she fell in love earlier, bring him here, they kiss, and that’s it.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“No, it isn’t,” Moe agreed, “but first we should put everyone in the kingdom to sleep so it’ll be like nothing happened.”

“And how we gonna do that? Curly Joe’s the best at sleeping spells and there’s no way he can do this alone.”

“Okay wise-guy, what were you and I best at?”

Larry thought that over. “You were really good at changing sizes. It seemed real easy for you to make things bigger or smaller.”

“That’s true; now what were _you_ good at?”

“Honestly, I can’t really think of nothin’.”

“You had to have been good at somethin’.”

“Thanks for believin’ in me, but I really wasn’t.”

“You liked to fly,” Curly Joe reminded.

“What good’s that do?”

“Not much,” Moe lamented. “Plus, it would probably look suspicious a bunch of guys wavin’ sticks at people and puttin’ them to sleep.”

“Maybe…” Curly Joe started, “maybe if we share our powers with each other we can do it.”

“How is it you’re comin’ up with the ideas?”

“It’s a good idea?”

“No.”

“But you said---”

“I said it was an _idea_.”

“I think he’s onto somethin’,” Larry seemed more optimistic. “Like if you change our size, Curly Joe helps us with the sleeping spell, and I make us fly, we could fly around the kingdom and put everybody to sleep without anyone seein’ us because we’d be so small.” He shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

“What have we got to lose?” They each took each other’s hands as if they were transfusing their respective powers. When they thought it worked, they put it to the test. Successfully, they had shrunk down to microscopic size and could fly around with the greatest of ease. As for the sleeping spell…

Floating down from the tower, they each looked like tiny dots of red, green, and blue light. Upon close inspection, it was a very tiny Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe putting the entire castle to sleep. Yes, the sleeping spell was working as well. They covered more ground by splitting up and sending everyone into a slumber.

Eventually, the three of them had saved the ballroom for last. As Larry was putting the king and queen to sleep, another king made his way over to their thrones. “Richard,” Leopold either didn’t notice or thought nothing of the king and queen yawning and slumping in their thrones, “Richard, it’s Augustus. I know I mentioned how I wish he showed more initiative; well, I’m afraid he has in the worst way,” Larry flew over Leopold and casted the sleeping spell upon him. “He’s not here tonight because he says he’s fallen in love with some girl in a forest,” Leopold let out a massive yawn. “Literally Waltzes over to me and says he’s going to marry this Ro--” and he was asleep.

“This ‘ro’?” Larry was confused.

Moe (and Curly Joe) flew over to him. “Alright, that’s everyone.”

“Say Moe, what’s a ‘ro’?”

“Like R-O-W?”

“Beats me. I was putting their majesties to sleep when this guy comes up and says something about some Augustus guy sayin’ he’s gonna marry this ‘ro’.”

“That _guy_ happens to be King Leopold. One of King Richard’s best friends and allies. Don’t you remember him? He was the other guy standing near the king at the Christening with the little boy at his leg.”

“And the little boy was probably Augustus.”

“Only Augustus wouldn’t be so little anymore.” Moe looked around the room. “Which one do you think he is?”

“Oh, he’s not here. King Leopold was sayin’ how Augustus isn’t here because he’s fallen in love with some girl in a forest. Augustus literally Waltzes over to King Leopold and says he’s gonna marry this ‘ro’, then King Leopold fell asleep.”

“Maybe he didn’t finish the whole word,” Curly Joe deduced.

“What could ‘ro’ be then?”

“Romantic, robust, royal; there are a plethora of options.”

“You and your big words.”

“Romanian, rotund, rosy, ro---”

“Hold on,” Moe was piecing something together. “you said this Augustus fell in love with some girl in a forest?” Larry nodded. “What if he meant the forest nearby.”

Larry considered this. “It’s possible, but we’ve spent eighteen years in that forest and the only girl who lived there was---”

“ROSE!” the three of them realized in unison.

“Think about it,” Moe was about to lie out the clues. “He mentions a girl in the forest. There’s only one forest near here and it’s the one where Rose lives. The ‘ro’: maybe King Leopold was about to say he’s gonna marry ‘this _Rose_ ’ maybe then some word like ‘girl’ or ‘person’ follows. The literal Waltzing: Rose said she danced with this boy earlier. The dance coulda been a Waltz.”

“But Rose said she danced with someone named Gus,” Larry reminded.

It was Curly Joe who figured it out. “He is Gus! We never could remember the prince’s name because it was so fancy. Augustus sounds fancy, and the name can be shortened. So maybe the prince likes to be called ‘Gus’!” Curly Joe swooned. “Isn’t it romantic? They’re already set to be married and they fall in love with one another without even knowing who the other person truly is,” a romantic sigh. “It’s like they’re destined for one another. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.”

“Then we have to find him and get him to break the spell!” Moe told them. “Rose said she invited him to the cottage tonight. He’s probably there or on his way there right now.”

“Oh gee, then we better go,” Larry suggested with some urgency.

"Ya think?!"

…

“Ah-ha!” Gus had come across the cottage, “I knew it had to be near.” His horse nickered in annoyance. “In my defense: it is easy to get lost in this forest. Still, we did find it eventually.” A whinny of protest. “ _You_ found it eventually.” A satisfied neigh. “Wish me luck.” Gus knocked on the door. When the door opened, no one was on the other side to greet him. “Rose?” An open door was an open invitation wasn’t it? “Rose, it’s me. It’s Gus.” Gus shut the door behind him.

All of a sudden, he was ambushed. A bunch of gargoyle-like creatures carrying ropes had attacked him. He tried to fight them off, but they overpowered him (in all honesty, it wasn’t like Gus was very strong anyway). The scuffle hadn’t lasted long and the end result was him bound with rope—one of the creatures had managed to gag him with some sort of cloth.

“Well,” this feminine voice did not belong to Rose (and he doubted it was one of her “uncles”), “I must say I am surprised. Here I set my trap expecting nobody of importance, and lo,” she slammed the scepter she was carrying down for accentuation, “I catch a prince!” She gave a sinister chuckle before commanding her minions. “Away with him,” they started to drag him away, “but be gentle,” when she held out her arm, her pet raven flew to her and rested upon said arm. “I have plans for our royal guest.”

…

When they reached the cottage, the Stooges returned to their normal size. “Boy, this forest sure is big,” an out of breath Larry commented.

“Say,” Curly Joe noticed something unusual, “did we leave that door open when we left.”

“No, we didn’t!” Moe answered for him. He was slightly ahead as they ran into the cottage.

“I don’t think we broke all this stuff either.”

Larry looked around the room. “Moe---”

“I know,” Moe cut him off, “Gus wasn’t the only one who came to visit.”

“Endora musta found out where we lived.”

Curly Joe scowled. “I bet it was that raven that always went with her. I never did like that thing.”

“If Endora was here,” Moe began, “that means she was waiting. If she was waiting for us, she’d still be here. Which means she was expecting Gus.”

“So Endora wanted Gus,” Larry figured. “Why would she want him?”

“She knows. Somehow she knows about Rose and Gus and she captured him so that he can’t go and break the spell.”

“And she probably took him to her creepy castle in the Forbidden Mountains.”

“Then that’s where we need to go!”

“Moe, there’s a reason it’s called the _Forbidden_ Mountains.”

“Gus is the only one who can save Rose. In order for him to save her, we gotta go and save him.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“I’m more afraid of what Endora’s gonna do to us,” Curly Joe cowardly quipped.

“But we have to do this,” Moe persisted, “for Rose.” Larry and Curly Joe nodded in agreement. “Now come on.”

Larry sighed. “Why couldn’t Endora live in a place called the welcoming valley of goodness or somethin’ less evil sounding?”


	13. The Final Battle

Endora’s sinister lair was more than suited for its location in the Forbidden Mountains. One wouldn’t be surprised if that ominous lair was the reason for the mountains to be dubbed “forbidden” in the first place.

“I don’t like this place, Moe,” Curly Joe timidly confessed when they reached her fortress.

“We’re not really goin’ in there, are we?” Larry questioned.

Moe took a deep breath. “Just remember: we’re doing this for Rose. We failed her once, this is our chance to redeem ourselves.” The other two nodded. “Anyone got a plan?” The other two shook their heads. “Well…let’s just look for Gus and get him out without Endora or her raven seeing.”

“What about her guards?” Larry pointed to the guard asleep at his post.

“I don’t think we have to worry about them. Still, let’s shrink to be safe,” they each shrunk down and flew into her domain. “This time, we need to stay together, no splitting up. Come on.”

“Where we gonna go?”

Curly Joe pointed at the evil fairy heading in their direction. “I say we follow her.” They stayed hidden as they watched Endora make her way down a different hall that led to a dungeon. Endora approached one of the cells and entered as Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe waited atop the door and peered through its bars.

Sure enough, this cell had a prisoner. “I thought I would pay a call,” Endora said this in such a soft, dignified manner. “It’s not everyday this place receives guests, let alone _royal_ guests.”

Prince Augustus sat on a stone bench, his limbs shackled. “I know who you are, Endora” he was trying to be brave. “I just don’t know why I’m here. What do you want with me?”

“I needed to tie up some loose ends. I was just as surprised to see you as you were to see me. I never wanted you. I have no interest in you and quite frankly, I never will. Although, I should have pieced together that ‘Gus’ was just a shortened name for Augustus.”

“How do you know I go by that name?”

“Are you not going to question what I was doing in that cottage? I knew why you were there.”

“How did---” he did question what she was doing in that cottage. “Rose,” he breathed the name of his beloved before looking up at his captor. “What did you do to her?” Endora brought her scepter forward and waved her hand over the silver ball. The ball was apparently a crystal ball because it showed Gus exactly what Endora had done to Rose. “She’s---”

“Fortunately for you, she’s _not_ dead. I don’t know how those Stooges managed to counter my curse, but they did.”

“What does your curse on the princess have to do with Rose?”

Endora arched an eyebrow as she pulled away her scepter. “You still haven’t caught on, have you?”

Gus thought it through. “Are you saying…is Rose the lost princess?”

“I shouldn’t be surprised it took you this long to find out. Then again: you were the same little boy cowering in fear behind his father when I invited myself to the party, I honestly didn’t expect much of you as a man.”

“You said I’m here as a loose end.”

“As I stated before: your beloved Rose is not dead. My curse to kill was somehow changed to have her sleep for a hundred years.”

“A hundred years?”

“However, I do have a heart—well, no actually, I sold my heart and soul for the killing curse. My death curse would have worked instantly if those buffoons hadn't interfered!”

“I know for a fact that fairies can’t kill.”

“Yes, I know, such a pity. However, unlike other curses, a killing curse would work instantly and work permanently. All it costs to enact one was my heart and soul. When my curse was altered to sleep, the curse became temporary—a hundred years isn’t permanent you know. All temporary curses have antidotes, and hers is true love’s kiss. Naturally, I had to find and destroy her true love.”

“You can’t kill me.”

“True, but I was going to spare your life regardless. You see: I got to talk to the princess before I attempted to kill her, she is quite sweet. Crying over the fact that she wouldn’t be able to tell the boy she met what had happened to her. I was able to convince her the spinning wheel was enchanted and that if she touched it, she would see her love again. And so she shall. Once the sleeping spell comes to its completion, I will ensure that yours is the first face that she sees when she wakes up.”

“The spell’s supposed to last a hundred years.”

“Not that many people live be a hundred and twenty, you should consider yourself lucky. And as an incentive for your patience, I’ll spare that horse of yours as well.” She turned to leave. “I bid you goodnight, I know I shall have one,” she gave a soft, yet sinister chuckle as she left.

A dejected Gus gave a forlorn sigh and slumped back against the wall, shedding a single tear for his beloved Rose. While trying to plan an escape, he was surprised to see three floating balls of light fly into the room. He was even more surprised when the lights turned into grown men. “Who are---”

“Shh,” the one in red shushed him, “we’re here to help, but you gotta stay quiet.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Moe, that’s Larry,” the man in green waved, “and he’s Curly Joe,” while the one in blue bowed. “We’re---”

“Your Rose’s uncles!” Gus smiled. “I remember you! All those years ago, you were giving your gifts to the princess. You’re the ones who countered the curse. I always wondered what happened to you. You were hiding her all this time.”

“And now we’re here to rescue you. Curly Joe, you keep lookout while Larry and I break these chains.”

“Thank you all. I promise I’ll find a way to repay you.”

“You can do that by breaking Rose’s spell.”

“Right,” Gus was about to hurry out, but Moe and Larry held him back.

“Hey, hey, hey! You can’t just go charging in like that. You don’t even have anything to protect yourself.”

“But we can fix that,” Larry waved his wand and a shield appeared in Gus’ left hand. “A shield can protect you from anything they try to throw at you.”

“And this,” when Moe waved his wand, a sword appeared in Gus’ right hand, “might protect you a little better.”

Gus gave a nervous chuckle. “This is probably a bad time to tell you, but I can’t handle a sword very well.” He demonstrated that when he dropped it. “Sorry,” he quickly picked it up. “Guys, I appreciate this, really, but I don’t think I can do this. I’m not the handsome knight who can rescue the damsel. I’m just…I’m just Gus.”

“And that’s who Rose loves,” Curly Joe spoke up. “It doesn’t matter who he is or isn’t, Rose loves Gus.”

“She loves me?”

“And love is the most powerful thing of all, even more so than curses and magic.”

Gus held his sword with a sort of newfound confidence. “Alright, let’s go!” The Stooges quietly cheered. “First we need to get my horse; he’ll get us to Richard’s castle a lot quicker.”

“Where is he?” Larry asked.

“Endora chained him in her courtyard. It’s back this way,” Gus took the lead. “There’s one thing I still don’t understand though: how did Endora even know to go to the cottage?”

“CAW!” the sudden appearance and subsequent shriek of a raven startled the men.

“From him,” Moe nonchalantly answered.

“That’s her spy,” Curly Joe clarified.

Lucifer flew away in one direction while continuing to squawk. “Now everyone’s gonna know we’re here!” Larry bemoaned.

“I think there’s another way out” Gus gestured for them to follow him in the opposite direction. “We just need to---” Whatever he was about to say was cut off by Lucifer flying back with an army of Endora’s minions. “Run!” The three of them turned around to flee. It appeared that their only way out came via window. To their luck, the window led to the courtyard.

“That’s gonna be a long way down,” Larry noted.

“But we can fly!” Curly Joe pointed out.

Moe pointed to Gus. “He can’t!”

“Moe,” Larry began, “you and Curly Joe go and free his horse. We’ll meet you down there.” Moe and Curly Joe shrunk down and flew to the courtyard. Larry did the same, but only flew out the window to turn to Gus. “Gus, I need you to jump out the winda.”

Gus looked out the window. “Excuse you?”

“Trust me! Jump.”

Gus looked at the approaching horde, but decided Larry had the better option. He jumped out of the window expecting to fall, but was surprised to discover he was floating in midair. “How did---”

A very tiny Larry flew over to Gus, his green wand pointing at the prince. “I’m the one who’s good at flyin’.” They watched as a few minions leapt out of the window and fell to the ground. As fast as he could, Larry lowered Gus to the ground. Gus was running for his horse, when the horse started to neigh in a sort of panic.

Thankfully, Moe and Curly Joe noticed why. A few of the guards were standing atop the castle wall pushing off giant rocks. Thinking quickly, Moe and Curly Joe used their magic to turn the rocks into bubbles. “We got him free!” Moe informed Gus before Gus mounted his horse.

Suddenly more guards started to run toward them shooting arrows. Larry took heed of that and turned the arrows into plant vines that just fell to the ground. “Let’s get out of here, and quick!”

Gus’ steed began racing for the exit, unaware of the guards atop the castle ready to pour boiling water out of very large cauldrons. Moe was aware though. “Oh no you don’t.” He waved his wand to create a protective barrier. As soon as Gus, the horse, and the Stooges were through, Moe closed the barrier so that the boiling water poured on the guards who gave chase.

“CAW!” Since the guards had failed, it was up to Endora to stop them. “CAW!” And Lucifer was going to be the one to alert her.

“Oh, why that---” an angry Curly Joe didn’t finish that thought as he chased after the raven. The raven was fast and zig-zagging as it flew, but Curly Joe realized how to outwit it. While chasing Lucifer around the tower, Curly Joe stopped. He flew to the top of the tower where he knew Lucifer would be coming. As soon as the raven landed on the tower wall, Curly Joe used his magic to turn Lucifer to stone. “That oughta show ya,” then Curly Joe flew off to join the others.

“Lucifer!” an irritated Endora had managed to hear Lucifer’s shrieks. “Lucifer, tell those fools to---” she gasped when she saw what became of her pet. “No.” She looked down from the tower in time to see the prince, his horse, and three balls of light get through the iron gate. “NO!” She used her scepter to summon silver lightning.

“Uh-oh,” Larry shuddered after a bolt narrowly missed them, “I think Endora’s up.”

“She don’t seem too happy either,” Curly Joe added.

“The castle’s not too far from here,” Moe observed as the horse galloped closer to Richard’s kingdom. “We just gotta keep dodging what she’s gonna throw at us.”

A dark cloud formed directly above the kingdom. Various bolts of lightning flew out from the clouds resulting in the lightning creating a giant forest of thorns.

“Whoa!” Thankfully, Gus managed to stop his horse him time from barging through.

“How we gonna dodge that?” Larry questioned.

Gus held out his sword. “With this,” he used his sword to cut through the thorns while the shield acted as protection from fallen ones.

“Say, he’s actually real good at this,” Curly Joe commented.

“I see the castle! We’re almost there!” Gus was about to get closer until silver smoke appeared and Endora materialized before them.

“Enough of this!" Endora slammed her scepter down. "Now you shall deal with me, o prince. And all the powers of HELL!” Right before their eyes, Endora transformed herself into a large, fire-breathing, black dragon.

Gus turned to the Stooges. “Guys…how do we defeat a giant dragon from Hell?” Was the dragon laughing at him?

“ _We_?” Moe was lingering back with his companions, “sorry Gus, but this is all _you_.”

“What?”

“Fairies can’t kill, remember,” Curly Joe reminded.

“So I’m on my own?”

“We’ll watch your back,” Larry told him.

“If you defeat Endora, you’ll be able to wake up Rose,” Moe tried to encourage. “We’ll do what we can, but this is all you.”

Gus gulped as he looked up at the dragon. “I can do this. For Rose,” he pulled on the reins and his horse went charging toward the dragon.

Dragon Endora blew out a stream of silver fire. While Gus had managed to block it with his shield, he was knocked off his horse (who just kept on riding). Gus was going to have to finish this on foot. He did his best to hide among the thorny trees and strike at the dragon’s snout, but inevitably, Dragon Endora burned the forest down.

“I need to get to higher ground!” He called out to the Stooges.

“What?” Moe questioned.

“I need better places to strike at her. Can you get me to higher ground?”

The Stooges looked around. “There!” Larry pointed to a crag. “Climb that!”

Gus did as the dragon continued to lunge for him. She blew a stream of fire that knocked his shield from him. All he had left was his sword, but his strikes didn’t seem to be doing any good. “So this is how I die? I’m sure Father would be pleased.”

“Gus!” Curly Joe flew at him. “Endora said she sold her heart and soul for the curse. Throw your sword at her heart.”

Gus threw the weapon while the Stooges magically guided the sword to pierce the dragon where the heart should be. When it struck where the heart should be, the dragon let out a cry of agony and fell to ground in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was Gus’ sword beside a broken scepter. “That actually worked.”

The ever-observant Larry took notice of something else. “Hey, the thorn forest is disappearin’! It looks like everythin’s back the way it was.”

A whinny in the distance indicated Gus’ horse had found his way back to him. “Thank you, Lancelot. Now let’s get to Richard’s castle,” the prince sat proudly atop his noble steed. “You know the way.”


	14. Reunited

“Everything’s so…so quiet.” Gus observed as Lancelot rode to the castle. “So still.” He leapt off his horse and looked around. “They’re…” he noticed a group of people sitting on the courtyard fountain with their eyes closed, “they’re all asleep.”

“We didn’t want the king and queen to know we failed,” Moe explained. “We figured since the whole kingdom was here, we’d put them to sleep with Rose.”

“Where is she?” Each of the Stooges pointed to the tallest tower. “Up there?”

“We didn’t want anyone to disturb her,” Curly Joe described their logic. “No one was using it, so we did.”

“We put her in a bed and everythin’ so she’d be comfortable,” Larry added.

“Now she just needs you to wake her up,” Moe concluded.

Gus nodded toward them and nearly sprinted to where he knew she would be. He seemed to take the tower’s stairs two at a time, until he approached the top. When he got to where Rose was, he slowly made his way over to the bed, and stopped to admire her. “She’s so beautiful,” he whispered his compliment as he caressed her cheek. “I feel like I don’t want to wake her. She looks so peaceful, and content, and…happy.”

“She’s probably dreaming of you.”

Gus chewed on his lip. “Do you really think this will save her; that I’m the one she truly loves? She doesn’t know anybody else. There are so many men, so many people, far better than I. She can have her pick—she is the princess after all.”

“But you love her, right?” Curly Joe questioned.

Gus stared at the sleeping beauty. “With all my heart.”

“Then maybe that will be enough.”

“You gotta at least try,” Larry gently urged.

“Son,” Moe flew over to him, “I _know_ this will work. I can’t explain why, but I can feel it. Think of all you just went through to even get to see her. Even Endora said that Rose wanted to see you again. You deserve to be the first person Rose sees when she wakes up,” he (and the others) backed away. “Go on, kiss her.”

Gus gave her one last longing gaze, knelt to Rose’s level, and placed a gentle, yet tender kiss on her lips. As he backed away to give her space, Rose opened her eyes. “It’s you.” With the widest of smiles on his face, Gus took her hands and helped her stand. This time, Rose didn’t hesitate to touch him and stroked his cheek. “You’re real!”

“I…” Gus was struggling to find the words, “I honestly can’t believe my kiss broke the spell.”

“Spell?”

“I’ll explain later, just don’t tell your parents.”

“My parents?” The memories of the prior day came flooding back to her. “Oh, no! Gus, I need to tell you that I---”

“I know. I know who you are.”

“You know I’m the lost princess?” He nodded. “I only just found out myself. I was going to meet my parents, and then I’m supposed to marry someone else.”

“Oh, I know that too.”

“All that can change. You can take me away; we can be together.”

“Well see, I neglected to mention that I’m supposed to be getting married.”

“You…you what?”

“It’s kinda long-standing. You see: eighteen years ago, King Richard and King Leopold arranged it so that when their children came of age, they would be married. Richard’s daughter would marry Leopold’s son, Prince Augustus. I know this because I was there."

“You mean you’re…” she smiled when she figured it out, “you’re Prince Augustus!”

“Can you see why I prefer Gus?”

“I prefer Gus too.”

“Ahem,” Moe cleared his throat to indicate his (and Larry and Curly Joe’s presence), “we hate to interrupt, but we gotta get the princess to the ballroom for her royal presentation.”

"Wait," Rose went over and gave each of her uncles a hug. “I’m sorry for how I acted earlier,” she apologized. “I was just hurt. The three of you were so good to me and you loved me and took care of me all of my life. I hope I can repay for everything you’ve done.”

Gus made his way over to her to address the men who helped him. “And I hope I can do the same for everything that you’ve done for me.”

Moe swatted his hand at them. “Think nothing of it. Now you gotta get going so Rose can make her grand entrance!”

“You’re not going to be with me?” Rose questioned. “I’m going to have to go alone?”

“Never,” Gus linked his arm with hers. “Because I’m always going to be with you.”

She smiled up at him. “Lead the way, my prince.”

…

Meanwhile, everything and everyone in the castle was waking up. Jane yawned as she woke up. “Richard?”

“Hmm,” a groggy Richard turned to her with sleep in his eyes.

“Richard, were we just sleeping?”

“I don’t think so,” he got up and stretched.

“What were we doing?”

“I was just talking to Leo---” when he looked, Leopold wasn’t there, “---oh, right, he went to compose himself. Wanted to tell me something about---”

“Richard!” Leopold rushed over to Richard. “Richard, I have to talk to you about Augustus.”

“Yes, you said that just a moment ago.”

“And I have no choice but to come right out with it. My son has---”

Trumpets began to blow. “Presenting their Royal Highnesses: Princess Rose and Prince Augustus.”

Leopold did a double take. “Augustus?”

The prince and princess made their way arm in arm down the ballroom stairs. Leopold couldn’t help but notice how tall his son stood, how proud he looked. It was also apparent to everyone that the pair only had eyes for each other. When the two of them approached the kings and queen, they bowed (Gus) and curtsied (Rose).

“Oh my Rose, it’s really you,” Jane couldn’t help but sob as she stepped down from her throne.

Gus took notice that Rose was hesitating to get closer to Richard and Jane. “Go on,” he whispered his assurance, “they may be king and queen, but they are your parents. I think you’ve all waited long enough.”

“Mother!” Rose ran into her mother’s arms.

“Rose,” Jane repeated her daughter’s name as she held her tight.

Richard joined his wife and daughter in an embrace and stroked Rose’s hair. Jane let Rose go so that Rose could embrace her father. “Father!”

“We’ve waited so long for this day,” Richard pulled away to get a good look at her. “No doubt about it,” he looked at his wife, “you are the spitting image of your mother.”

“I don’t know: I think I inherited your nose.” The family all laughed.

“Augustus!” Leopold marched over to his son. “Augustus, what is going on?”

“Father,” Gus took Rose’s hand and led her to his father, “may I present to you the woman I intend to marry.”

“WHAT?”

Rose curtsied to her future father-in-law, “It’s an honor to meet you, King Leopold,” she kissed his cheek.

Leopold couldn’t help but turn red. “The honor is mine, my dear. But I’m afraid I don’t---”

“My lady,” Gus cut him off by bowing to Rose, “may I have the honor of your first royal dance?”

“I’m flattered, Good Sir,” Rose couldn’t help but giggle when she curtsied back, “but there isn’t any music playing?”

“That’s never stopped us before,” he led her in a Waltz as a melody soon began to play.

“B-b-but,” King Leopold stammered. “I-I don’t--” he looked toward Richard and Jane. Jane had looped her arm in Richard’s, and Richard was swaying along to the music. “This doesn’t---” he shrugged. “Oh well,” then he too began to sway.

…

“Well Boys,” watching from a distance, Moe put his arms around his companion’s shoulders, “we did it!

“A happy ending for everyone,” Curly Joe cheered.

“HEY!” Moe had finally noticed something. “Has that dress been blue this whole time?” He zapped his wand at Rose’s dress and the color turned pink.

“No fair!” Curly Joe waved his wand, and the color turned back to blue.

“Oh, not this again,” Larry bemoaned as the color of Rose’s dress continually changed. This ceased when a beam of golden light flew down next to them. “Hey fellas, I think it’s for us.”

“Come on,” satisfied that the dress was pink, Moe took the lead toward the light, “let’s go home.”

Curly Joe followed behind. Larry was about to, but then he turned back and pointed his own wand at Rose’s dress. “Green,” he watched the dress turn green, and then joined his friends.

…

When the Stooges arrived in the fairy kingdom, they were greeted with cheers and applause. “This is new,” Moe noted.

“I like it,” Curly Joe basked in the positive attention.

“Hey,” Larry noticed why the crowds were beginning to part, “it’s the queen.” He, Moe, and Curly Joe bowed before Queen Renewa.

“Gentlemen,” Renewa began, “you have performed above and beyond what was expected of you. For that, I insist that you be given titles and join my fairy council.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” Moe started, “I think we’ve been away from home long enough. If you wish to give us the titles, we will accept them, but we respectfully decline the offer to join the council.”

“Is that what you all wish?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Larry confirmed.

“It doesn’t really suit us anyway,” Curly Joe added.

This made Renewa chuckle. “No, I suppose it doesn’t. Very well: welcome home Sirs, Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe.” The crowd burst with excitement.

“Yep,” Moe looked around with a smug look of joy on his face, “I could get used to this.”


	15. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it seemed I borrowed a lot of elements from the Disney movie, but I didn’t want to end it the way that one did. The real Sleeping Beauty didn’t end at just the kiss after all. And thus, I couldn’t help but create my own little epilogue.
> 
> Hope you don’t mind…

**_ EPILOGUE: Present Day _ **

“And that my good people, is how we got to where we got,” Moe concluded. “I thank you,” he bowed as the assembly cheered.

“A wonderful interpretation,” Queen Renewa clapped. “Thank you for regaling us with your story.”

“It was nothing, Your Majesty.”

“Would you like to field any questions from the audience?”

“Gee,” Moe nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “we’d like to, honest, but there’s kinda someplace else we gotta be.”

“Then perhaps, just one question.”

“Alright,” Moe turned the audience. “Who has a question?” He called on a young, male fairy near the front. “You there.”

“Hello,” the fairy greeted. “You said this story happened nearly twenty years ago, but everything that happened only took eighteen years.”

“And so it did.”

“That means Princess Rose would be twenty by now. Two years have passed: do you still keep in touch?”

“Of course we do!”

“I think he’s implyin’ he wants to know what they’ve been up to,” Larry figured. “Should we tell ‘em?” The audience began to chorus their desire for an update.

“Ooh!” Curly Joe waved his hand. “Can I tell them?” Moe and Larry nodded. “Thank you,” he turned to the audience. “So it’s like Moe told the queen just now, we can’t take any questions because there’s someplace else we gotta be. That someplace happens to be Rose and Gus’ castle. They just had a baby, see,” the audience expressed their delight, “and the three of us have been chosen as godfathers.”

“They only just had it this morning,” Larry informed. “We don’t even know if it’s a boy or girl.”

“But we do know we can’t wait to meet our newest little godchild,” Moe was beaming with pride. “So with that, we must bid you adieu and catch the next portal out of here.” The Stooges took their bows and headed out.

…

“I don’t think it’s fair that the baby looks like me,” Gus jokingly lamented as he held the baby in his arms. “Poor thing.”

“I think she looks beautiful,” Rose playfully defended as she stroked her daughter’s cheek with her finger. “And so do you.”

“You should be the one getting all the compliments after going through all that.”

“Are your parents still going on about how it wasn’t proper for you to be in the room with me?”

“I’ve slayed a dragon, defeated an evil fairy, rescued a princess, and I still don’t think they’ll ever be satisfied with what I do. Meanwhile, your parents practically throw you a party for every little thing you do no matter how insignificant.”

“They’re trying to catch up on all the years they missed out. I love them dearly, and I appreciate what they do, but one can only take so much of my father’s ‘jokes’.”

“Richard does tell some awkward jokes.”

“And you know that despite their constant criticisms, you’ll always love your parents.”

“Yes, I know,” he looked down at his daughter, “but do you think we’ll be good parents?”

“We can find a good balance for our daughter. Be supportive, but still want her to be independent. Learn what to do and not to do from our parents and my uncles. Though I really can’t answer that for certain. Honestly Gus: some questions have no answers.”

“The best we can do is at least try.”

A beam of gold light appeared in the room and the Three Stooges appeared before them. “Your Highnesses,” Moe greeted before bowing.

“Uncles,” Rose began, “we’re practically family. Must you be so formal?”

“Alright then: how ya doin’ Rosie?”

Rose laughed. “I’m wonderful.”

“Hiya Gus,” Larry acknowledged Rose’s husband.

“Hi Guys,” Gus greeted back. “Come on and look,” he allowed them to come forward as he held out the baby for them to see. “Meet your new goddaughter.” The Stooges fawned over the newborn.

“I guess this means you won’t be namin’ her after us,” Curly Joe quipped.

“We actually have a name,” Rose told them after her laugh. “Would you like to know?”

“You’re not gonna make us wait until the Christening?”

“I see no reason why. My parents tried that, and nobody knew my name for eighteen years. The kingdom will find out then, but you have a right to know before.”

“It’s probably gonna be somethin’ that starts with an ‘ _A_ ’,” Moe deduced. “Keepin’ with royal tradition.” Rose shook her head. “No? ‘ _G_ ’ then?” Gus shook his head. “Oh, maybe you’re takin’ the same letter as the mother?”

Rose shook her head again. “Nope.”

“Now I really wanna know.”

“Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe,” Rose smiled up at them, “Gus and I would formerly like to introduce you to Her Royal Highness, Princess Melody.”

“Though you guys feel free to call her Melody,” Gus quickly added.

“Melody?” Moe tested out the name. “How’d you come up with a name like that?”

“My reasoning was that when I look at my daughter, I think of the most beautiful song, or ‘melody’.

“I just thought it was a nice word,” Rose admitted. “And that it would make a nice name. There may or may not be any more significance to that,” she shared a wink with her husband.

“I like it!” Curly Joe praised.

“Me too,” Larry agreed.

Moe tilted his head to look at the baby. “I think she looks like a ‘Melody’.”

“I think she looks like her dad.”

“I know, poor thing,” Gus jested back.

“She is beautiful you two,” Moe complimented. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Rose thanked them as the baby let out a massive yawn. “Oh, I think someone’s tired. It has been a long day.”

“Aren’t you tired too?”

“Me? No; I never really liked to sleep anyway.” The Stooges laughed at that. “Will we see you at the celebration?”

“Naturally. We’ll have to give our goddaughter her gifts.”

“And this time,” Curly Joe stepped forward, “I’m going to give my gift first.”

**_THE END_ **


End file.
